Handle With Care
by Jim Clancys Lollipop
Summary: Melinda is a 16 year old girl who survived a horrific ordeal, when placed in a new home she finds herself fragile and afraid. Will Melinda find friendship in another resident...or will she find more? A tale of love...Jimel...Please review x
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of it's characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended! **

**A result of my random imagination… Doesn't follow the story line of the show and Not about ghosts just a Jimel fic x This story deals with some serious and disturbing issues (although not graphic at all) and requires a certain level of emotional maturity, please read and review…I love to hear what you guys think xx Lolly xx**

_-To fix something, _

_you must first understand _

_every way in which it is broken.-_

It was 1:00pm on Monday afternoon when Melinda wiped the tears from her face as she sealed another packing box, this one full of old family photographs and keepsakes. She carried it down to the removal truck that was sitting outside the house and handed it to her social worker, Lisa James. "Is this the last one?" Lisa asked, Melinda only nodded in response as she watched her load it up onto the truck and then pull the door down. She winced as it slammed shut, making the whole situation suddenly seem more final.

"You ready sweetheart?" Lisa asked sweetly opening the passenger door of her car and motioning for her to get in, Mel climbed in quickly and strapped herself in, glaring out the window at the torrents of rain which seemed to reflect her mood. She smiled sadly as she saw a group of teenagers coming out of a house on her road, they were laughing and talking animatedly, all smiling and already making the most of half term holiday. Melinda hadn't been out once in the past few months, she had to leave all her friends behind, only coming back once every two weeks to check up on the house and pick up mail. She sighed quietly as Lisa climbed in the other side and gave her a reassuring smile before starting the car and setting off on the five hour journey to Grandview, Driscoll County.

* * *

Melinda Gordon was 16 years old, 3 months ago her parents had been killed in a horrific robbery gone wrong. Five men had broken into their home in Calabasas, two held her mom and dad at gunpoint while the others stole everything they could from the house. Melinda had been on her way home from her dance class and unaware of the deathly situation, she burst through the front door yelling to her parents that she was home. The robbers had panicked and shot her parents, killing them both instantly. They all bolted for the door but when they saw Melinda, they decided to change their plans-they grabbed her and forced her into their van where she was beaten unconscious. She was taken to a seedy motel room where they kept her for a week, torturing and abusing her-psychologically, physically and sexually. They came up with a rule '_no speaking unless spoken to' _of course it sounds simple enough but when you're being beaten mercilessly by five men who are all double your size, it's not simple at all. Every time a sound passed Melinda's lips-no matter how small-it would provoke another brutal attack. At the end of the week they left the motel and while driving at over 70mph, they threw Melinda out of the back door of the van.

Fortunately later that night a young man pulled over to the side of the road to relieve himself, when he turned his car around his headlights illuminated what he thought was the dead body of a child. He rushed over to her and found that she was in fact still alive, though badly beaten and fragile. The man called 911 and stayed with Melinda until the EMT's came…the paramedics had said that if she were left undiscovered over night she would never have made it. After a month in intensive care and three weeks in recovery, Melinda was taken to a children's home by social services. Her parent's murderers were caught the same night they dumped Melinda, they got into a pile up on the freeway, killing two of them and landing two in prison for life with no possibility of parole and one of them in a low security facility for a minimum of five years without parole.

Melinda had blamed herself ever since it happened, she felt that if she hadn't have yelled out her parents would still be alive. After that night she barely spoke anymore, especially to men, only when a question was unable to be answered with a nod or shake of her head. Melinda went through life with her head down and her mouth shut, her grades slipped , her social life had disappeared altogether, she barely ate enough to stay alive and she slept for only a few hours each night with her subconscious plagued by nightmares.

In a matter of seconds, Melinda Gordon became a shell of the girl she once was.

* * *

"Melinda, we're here sweety" Lisa said quietly, Melinda's eyelids fluttered open and she smiled weakly at Lisa before unbuckling her seatbelt, and climbing out of the car. She looked around in awe, behind her five very flashy cars were lined up neatly in a sprawling gravelled driveway that they had just driven up and in front of her was a mansion. Even the word mansion didn't do this palatial home justice, clear glass walls were framed by panelled wood that blended in with surrounding forest. There were three floors decreasing in size as they went up, sort of like three blocks stacked on top of one another neatly. The driveway wrapped around the left side of the house and continued out of sight and there was a path off of the driveway which led up to the front door.

"Don't worry about your stuff Melinda, we'll come back for it before I leave…right now I just want to get you in from the rain, come on honey. Now remember, their names are Olivia and Christopher Jenner, they look after five other kids….they haven't adopted any of them because they specialise in teens so they're just guardians. That doesn't make the kids any less a part of them, it just means that you keep your own name etcetera" Lisa said, they both hurried up the driveway and before they even reached the door it flew open. Melinda gasped as she looked at the woman in front of her; so petite that she barely rose above Melinda's tiny 5ft 2ins, loose honey brown curls fell softly around her shoulders, bright golden-brown eyes framed by long dark lashes. She had a heart shaped faced, her cheeks were graced with a faint blush and she looked like she couldn't be older than her late twenties.

She wore a midnight blue dress with a low square neckline, three large round buttons vertically in the middle of the chest and a band under the bust which accentuated the woman's tiny waist. The soft silky fabric flared out gently over her hips and lay just above her knees, she looked beautiful. "My name's Olivia, you must be Melinda" she smiled warmly and pulled Melinda into a soft embrace "I've heard so much about you, you're more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. I'm so happy to have somebody here who's smaller than me…I'm pretty sure sometimes people think I'm one of the kids!" she joked, Melinda smiled…the first real smile she had given anyone in a long time.

Lisa felt tears come to her eyes as she saw the smile grace Melinda's lips, the only smile she had ever seen reach Melinda's eyes. " we'll go get her stuff from the car, it was lovely to see you Olivia, get in touch if you need to, I know Melinda will be fine with you" Lisa said, Mel followed her out to the car and smiled when Lisa took one of her hands in her own "first impressions?" Lisa asked, biting her lip nervously. Melinda smiled warmly and nodded her head "I think I'll like her".

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief "I thought so, she seemed lovely the first time we met, I just knew you'd be okay here. You have my number Melinda and I don't ever want you to feel like you can't call me. Now, I know you usually wake up around 4am when you have a bad dream…Please call me if that happens Melinda, I'm not saying you have to do it every night for the rest of your life but this is a hard time for you and I want the transition to be as smooth as possible, over the past few months of you being in the home I was always there to talk you down when you woke up in a panic…just because you're leaving the home doesn't mean you're leaving me, can't get rid of me that easy sweetheart, there's something special about you Melinda Gordon" she said reverently before pulling Mel into a hug.

Melinda buried her face in Lisa's hair and let the tears fall "I'm gonna miss you so much Lisa, I don't know how to talk to new people, what if they all hate me…" Lisa pulled back and looked right into Melinda's eyes as she spoke "nobody could ever hate you darling, you don't have to talk until you feel ready, I'm sure you'll find someone there who you really trust…you'll be fine honey" they shared one more quick hug before Lisa climbed into her car and drove off with a wave.

Just as Melinda was about to pick up her first suitcase she heard the front door slam shut. Melinda spun around and found herself face to face with the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen; he was quite a bit taller than her with messy near black hair and piercing blue eyes, he was wearing a long sleeved black t-shirt and dark jeans and even through the fabric she could see that his body was ripped. Both feeling a strange kind of electricity jumping between them, they stood in the rain staring at each other intensely, Melinda with a slight look of fear-her eyes were a little wider than normal and her lips parted to form a surprised 'O', and the boy with a troubled expression- a slight crease in between his eyes and a set jaw as if he were trying to decode a complex equation.

Without a word the boy picked up the smallest of the bags and lifted the strap onto Melinda's shoulder, he then picked up both of her large suitcases, one in each hand and gave a slight nod towards the door. Melinda gave him a nervous half smile and walked back to the house holding the door open for him, he walked through and gave Melinda a pointed nod in the direction of the lounge. She followed him quietly and found Olivia laying cutlery on the table in a huge dining room which was adjoined to the lounge "oh hello sweetheart, just getting ready for dinner. I don't suppose you've introduced yourselves" she said with a knowing look.

"James Clancy, Melinda Gordon….Melinda Gordon, James Clancy, but he prefers to be called Jim. Now you both have a rather prominent feature in common, neither of you are very talkative…. Jim here is a year older than you Melinda, 17 years old and he's been with us for a year……now, there are two rooms ready for moving in, either room 2 or room 6. I'll leave it up to you to decide, Jim could you show Melinda both of them for me sweetheart, I'm just gonna go take the potatoes out of the oven."

Jim nodded and picked Melinda's bags up and headed up the stairs; a spiral chrome staircase with glass panel on either side. Melinda looked around as they got to the top, she was facing a huge clear glass portion of the back wall of the house which stretched from floor to ceiling and was about 12ft wide, out of which there was a perfect view of the lush surrounding forest. There was a long hallway which ran two doors left, two doors right. Each door was a different fun colour except for one freshly painted white one. Jim set Melinda's suitcases down and walked down the hallway to the right until he reached the white door, there was a large chrome silver number 6 fixed to the front, he pushed it open and motioned for Melinda to go inside.

She walked in and gasped as she took in the beautiful room; tastefully decorated with cream, red and black as the colour scheme. There was all the furniture a person could ever need, including a medium sized plasma screen television mounted on the wall opposite a very modern and simplistic looking black leather sofa. Melinda threw Jim an amazed look and was a little surprised to see him with the same troubled expression from earlier, he shook his head as though he was answering a question 'no' then walked out the room signalling for her to follow.

Confused, Melinda walked behind him, stopping as he picked her suitcases back up. Jim went back to the staircase and headed up the next flight, ending at a shorter hallway where there were two doors but. Jim turned to the left where there was another plain white door and pushed it open for Mel, her eyes widened as she saw the inside- it was even bigger than the last one and had exactly the same layout but with an en suite bathroom and purple, gold and black as the theme.

Melinda wasn't sure why Jim didn't want her to stay in the other room, but considering the fact that he had lived there for a year she thought it probably best not to question his logic. She smiled back at him and motioned for him to come in from the door way, Jim walked over to the huge king-sized bed and laid her suitcases down beside it. Since Melinda had been at the children's home she had never been left alone with a male, she would freak out when the doctor asked Lisa to leave the room and they had to call out for a female therapist as the one that the home provided was a man. Melinda's smile faded as she looked at the gap between herself and Jim, too close. She looked up at him with wide eyes and saw him looking back at her with a concerned expression, he reached out to touch her arm and steady her as she swayed but as soon as their skin touched Melinda slammed her eyes shut as she was hurled into a memory.

__ "I SAID SHUT UP!" The tall and muscular man yelled, he drew his hand back and slapped Melinda across the face_ _laughing as she fell to the floor, he stood looming over her and unzipped his pants "please..go ahead and disobey me as many times as you want…" he lowered himself on top of her and whispered in her ear "…I enjoy the punishment"-_

When Melinda opened her eyes she had tears streaming down her face, she was curled up on the floor and Jim was nowhere to be seen, she sat up, pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them close with her arms. A couple of seconds later there was a knock on the door and Melinda looked up to see Jim standing in the doorway with a glass of water in one hand, the other held up as if in surrender and a notepad and pen tucked under his arm. She didn't know why but there was something about him that made her feel safe, as if she had known him forever and trusted him. She gave him a weak smile and a small nod then patted the floor next to her, Jim smiled brightly, sat down next to her and handed her the water. As Melinda sipped from the glass Jim wrote on the note pad

**-U kay? Sorry if I scared ya…I didn't think….**

Melinda smiled and wrote back **–It's kay, wasn't your fault ummm flash back…please don't tell Olivia, I don't want anyone else to know...please?**

Jim stared at the note as his conscience and logic fought, he knew that Olivia should be informed of Melinda's flashback but something about the way she looked so pleadingly into his eyes made him sigh and write back - **my lips r sealed, the bathroom's on the right if you wanna wash up and stuff before dinner, every1z waiting to meet you….bout 1/2hour kay?**

Melinda smiled gratefully and stood up to walk Jim to the door, he set the note pad and pen down on a table next to the door before leaving, he walked out if her room only to enter the one right next door. –_Is that why he wanted me to be in this room….so that we'd be close?...I doubt it, I mean it's probably just so that I'll be out of everyone else's way_…_but…-_ Melinda shook her head to clear it then went back to the bed, sat down and opened up one of her suitcases. She pulled a pile of clothes off the top and chose a pair of black skinny jeans with a long form fitting hot pink tank top with AC DC in black scribble text on the front. She grabbed some underwear and a purple towel from the pile and headed for the bathroom.

Melinda hung her towel on the towel warmer and stepped through the sliding glass doors of the massive power shower. She quickly washed up before wrapping herself up in her warm fluffy towel and tip-toeing back to her bedroom. Melinda changed into her outfit, applied some make up then after glancing at the clock and seeing she had 10 minutes to spare, she dug out her straighteners and tidied up her hair. As soon as the clock hit 7:00pm she sighed and made her way downstairs, taking the time to check out the beautiful sunset view from the glass wall on the first landing. As Melinda reached the bottom of the stairs she heard many voices all engaged in light banter, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she rounded the corner and walked into the lounge.

The first person to stand up was Olivia, she smiled and walked over to Melinda placing a hand on the small of her back . Melinda hardly knew the woman but still found comfort in the gesture, the room was filled with strangers and everyone was staring at her. Olivia cleared her throat and everybody's eyes swivelled from Melinda to her "Everybody I'd like you to meet Melinda Gordon, now I know you all already know about her but she doesn't know you guys…I'd like each of you to tell Melinda your name and age and then a little something about yourself okay?" Olivia asked with a pointed nod in a small blonde girl's direction "okay, I'll start…My name's Alexis, I'm 17 and I've been here for 3 years…it's nice to meet you" she said with a genuine heart warming smile. The boy next to her smiled and sat forward as he spoke "My name's Mitch, I've been here for 3 years also and I'm Alexis' twin brother" they had a slight southern accent and Melinda wondered how they ended up so far from home.

A tall girl with shoulder length sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes was next "my name's Holly, I'm 15, I've been here since my 13th birthday and I'm Mitch's girlfriend" she said, with a slightly territorial tone of voice, Melinda gave her a small smile and let her eyes rest on the last person in the room, Jim, she smiled warmly at him and he smiled back and stared into her hazel eyes with his own piercing blue ones. "Do you guys like already know each other or something?" Alexis asked curiously, both Melinda and Jim snapped out of their trance like stare and gave small nods. Just as Alexis was about to ask another question the front door opened and in walked a tall Italian looking man with dark hair and a chiselled jaw, his eyes were a light brown and his skin tanned.

Melinda smiled up at him nervously and bit her lip, he smiled back, walked over to her and stuck his hand out for her to shake, she instantly panicked as is hand flew out, closing her eyes and praying that she wouldn't have another flash back in front of everyone, the startled silence was broken by the man's voice "I'm sorry Melinda, I didn't think, I'm so sorry…are you okay?" he asked feeling guilty, she opened her eyes and a single tear rolled down her cheek, thinking of the first person that came to mind she threw a panicked look at Jim, he jumped off the couch and walked over to Melinda slowly, holing both hands palms up in front of him and maintaining eye contact so as not to startle her.

When he reached her he gave a pointed glance in the direction of his hands and then hers, Melinda looked nervously back and forth between his eyes and his hands –_He's being so sweet to me, all I've done is cause hassle for everybody and yet here he is. He's pretty much the only person I feel safe with right now and I don't even understand why-_ Melinda slowly leaned into Jim letting his arms wind around her and rest softly , one around her shoulders and the other around her waist_._ "sssshhh" he soothed, her head snapped up and she smiled at him-_he spoke….to me, well I don't know if ssshhh really counts as a word but it counts to me-. _Everyone in the room was staring in wonder and confusion at the relationship that Jim and Mel seemed to share and in shock at the fact that a Jim was so willing to be close to a stranger. Melinda leaned her head into Jim's chest, closed her eyes and breathed in his clean soft scent, for the first time in a long time she felt safe, like maybe she would be okay.

**Please leave a review xx Lolly xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of it's characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended! **

Olivia was the first to speak up "Melinda, sweetheart, are you alright?" she asked worriedly, Melinda nodded without opening her eyes. Jim loosened his arms and gave her a questioning nod in the direction of the dining room, she smiled in return and he walked with his hand resting on her back, a true protector. He pulled out a chair for her then sat in the one next to it, Everyone else filed in as conversation returned back to general banter of the day, Olivia and the man, who Melinda guessed was Christopher, sat at opposite ends of the table with all of the children in between. "Melinda, I feel awful honestly, please let us start again…my name's Christopher, or just Chris. I'm Olivia's husband, a little thick skulled sometimes I guess. I'm so glad we have another addition to the family, it makes me so happy to know that we can make a difference, no matter how small it is on the grand scale." he joked, Melinda felt awful for making him feel guilty- _I wish I could tell him it wasn't his fault- _she thought sadly, Melinda stood back up from the table, walked over to Christopher's seat and held her hand out to him with a smile "nice to meet you" she said happily. Chris let out a sigh of relief, smiled and shook Melinda's hand, "thank you" he whispered, Melinda's smile widened and she nodded to him before returning to her place at the table.

They chatted away while eating dinner and Melinda learned that Mitch and Alexis were about to start at Rockland University while Jim and Holly had chosen to be home schooled. Melinda wasn't really sure if it could be classified as home schooling- they had a different tutor for each subject who came in everyday for an hour and a half at a time-_the things that money can buy!-_Melinda thought, she herself had come from an extremely privileged background so fully understood the quality of life they must lead, when her parents died she inherited every cent of their fortune which was now nice and safe in her bank account. She also learned that they each had their own car, hence the line-up, Holly's had been the most recent having only passed Driver's Ed two weeks ago. Melinda had sold her car when she moved into the home and wondered if it might be a good idea to look for a new one.

The food, however, was somewhat of a problem for Melinda…when she was taken by the men that killed her parents, she wasn't given much to eat, but every time somebody brought her food she was forced to say thank you in a _physical_ way. Ever since then she had developed an aversion to food, only eating when she felt as though she couldn't hold out any longer, even then she would eat a very small meal and usually alone. So she struggled to force each bit of her food down, this didn't go unnoticed though nobody said anything-they just shot her questioning glances before looking away. Melinda just smiled and listened to the conversation which had now turned to weekend activities, Olivia and Christopher were having a silent exchange with a series of pointed looks, nods and smiles.

Olivia cleared her throat loudly and the table went quiet "okay everyone, you've all been working really hard studying for midterms and Christopher and I are incredibly proud of all of your results and think that you deserve a little break, we also think that it would be nice for Melinda to have a chance to get to know everyone a little better. Now I know it's not exactly 'cool' to hang out with your family but you'll get a week off school and you'd be making a certain someone very happy" she said pointing to herself animatedly "so...….how do you guys feel about going camping?" she asked with an exaggerated hopeful expression and pout, the table erupted into squeals and clapping from the girls with outbursts of "oh my god this is gonna be so much fun" "Wow, Melinda prepare for the crazy!" and Alexis' high pitched "YAY .God! I just bought the **cutest** shorts ever, they'll be perfect!" followed by excited clapping.

Melinda had always loved camping with her dad and felt her face light up at the idea and a huge grin spread across it, she looked at Olivia to find her smiling back "you like camping then?" she asked, Melinda nodded happily and gave the same excited handclap as Alexis earning laughter from everyone at the table at seeing her more animated side. She blushed and turned to Jim as she felt his eyes on her, he was smiling widely at her with an almost dazed look, she smiled up at him and he winked at her causing her heart to literally skip a beat. "Okay then guys!" Olivia yelled to get everyone's attention back "we're leaving on Saturday morning , we figure Grandview campground's a little too close to home so we're gonna take the drive up to Kings Canyon National Park, Three Rivers" she said excitedly. Alexis' eyes widened and her face lit up "Oh My GOD!" she squealed "As in California?!?! We're going to California?!" Olivia just smiled in return and nodded, Holly let out an excited scream and slapped a high five with Alexis, Jim and Mitch exchanged a mock look of dread.

Melinda smiled widely at Olivia who looked delighted that she liked the idea "So it's settled then, we'll do as much of the journey as we can on Saturday then book a hotel for the night and carry on in the morning. We should be able to get there by Sunday afternoon. How do you wanna drive? We could take the 7seater or you can pair up if you like…" Olivia mused. Holly was the first to speak up, "it could get a little crowded, all of us in one car for two days, I think we should pair up and take the driving in shifts…well I don't think I can drive outer state yet…" she trailed off trying to think of a practical solution. Olivia's face took on a troubled expression which she quickly covered with a cough, giving a slight shake of her head in Holly's direction, telling her to change the subject. Conversation went back to wardrobe for the trip until Olivia began clearing the table, Melinda stood up with her plate as well as Jim's and Mitch's, keeping them in a neat pile with cutlery on top she made her way to the kitchen.

As she rounded the corner she spotted Olivia running hot water into the sink, she moved behind her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder making her jump "oh hello sweetheart, you scared me….you didn't have to help clear the table, you're so kind, thank you. Listen, Melinda, would you mind meeting me in my office once I finish up here? Nothing at all to worry about, just want to run a few things by you okay?" Melinda smiled and nodded before heading back to the dining room. When she got there Christopher had everyone else's plates in a pile and was just headed out, he gave her a smile and a nod when he walked past. She gathered up all of the glasses earning thank-yous from everyone and then nudged Jim lightly, he smiled up at her and she looked down at her arms, filled with glasses. Jim, ever the gentleman, jumped out of his seat and took half of them in his own hands then followed Melinda to the kitchen. Olivia gave a shocked smile when they set them down beside her "wow Melinda! You even got Jim to help…you're good!" she joked, Melinda smiled and Jim stuck his tongue out at her childishly earning a large grin and a silent giggle from Melinda.

Olivia raised a suspicious eyebrow "is there something going on here that I should know about?" she asked with mock suspicion before laughing and turning back to the dishes. Melinda tapped her on the shoulder and pointed upstairs with a questioning look, "sure go ahead, I won't be finished here for about another half an hour any way, my office is through there" she said pointing to a hallway next to the staircase which Melinda hadn't noticed before, Mel nodded and headed up to her room. When she got there she decided to hang up her clothes in her wardrobe, neatly putting each item on a separate hanger which had been in the wardrobe, it took her twenty minutes to get all of her clothes in. The wardrobe was like a small bedroom in itself, a sliding mirror door opened to reveal a large walk-in closet with shelves and hanging rails on either sided and a large mirror at the end.

Melinda emptied all of the other small things from her suitcases and put them all in their new place. Seeing that she had five minutes left, Melinda decided to check out the balcony, one wall of her room was glass, with a sliding door which had no handle just five metal circles in an arc shape, she looked around but couldn't see any way of opening the door and decided that she'd just have to try again later.

Melinda made her way quickly down the two flights of stairs, the rounded the corner into the hallway that Olivia had pointed out, she knocked on the door at the end of it and a soft "come in" came from inside. Melinda stepped in and her jaw dropped as she took in the room, it was huge with a bookcase going from corner to corner on one wall and two Apple Macs side by side on a worktop desk which was double the normal length with a door right where it ended, there was a small black leather sofa in an L shape in one of the corners. Olivia was sitting at one of the computers in a leather swivel chair, she pulled out one from beside her and motioned for Melinda to sit down.

"Okay sweetheart?" she asked sweetly, Melinda smiled and nodded, "good, now, I'm not sure if you were told what our jobs are-Christopher is a film producer, working mainly with HBO…and I'm a therapist. I understand completely if you don't want to do this, but I was wondering what you thought about having a few sessions with me. Don't feel obliged at all, I was just…. hoping that I could help" she said, worried that she might have offended Melinda by suggesting that she needed therapy. Melinda thought about it for a second before nodding, she had spoken aloud to her last therapist and felt quite comfortable doing the same with Olivia, it was only men that particularly frightened her. Olivia picked up a notepad and pen and held it out to Melinda, who shook her head, Olivia sighed quietly " I understand Melinda, maybe it's too soon. Forget I ever mentioned it, I shouldn't-" Melinda cut her off with her own quiet voice "I can talk" Olivia smiled widely and nodded "I'm glad that you feel you can trust me Melinda", Olivia decided that she would start with small things and build up Melinda's trust before pursuing any serious issues. "I tell you what how about we start like this, I'll ask you one question then you ask me one…what's your favourite colour?" Melinda smiled "purple…like the one in my room, it's beautiful…my room I mean." She said nervously "there's no need to be nervous, honestly sweetheart, if at any point you don't feel comfortable answering a question just say no okay." Melinda nodded and thought for a second about what she wanted to ask "what made you want to look after kids? Especially teenagers, normally people only want young children"

Olivia smiled and her face took on a far away expression "my mom was an actress, a beautiful woman…she had the softest voice, she would sing to me every night to help me get to sleep. My father was a football manager, he was a player for a while but when I was born he decided that he wanted to be able to stay closer to home. I was fifteen years old, I had just gotten home from my first senior party ever…Christopher and I were high school sweethearts you see, it was his 17th birthday… anyway, so I got home at around 2:00am and there were two police cars in the drive. That night my parents had been killed in a car crash on the drive home from an away game, I inherited their fortunes of course but couldn't touch a cent until my 18th. Until then I was forced to stay in a children's home, I hated it so much… I hardly ever saw Chris, I was made fun of for being the rich kid…it was hell. When I was eighteen I paid my way through University, got a degree in child psychology, then went on to study the adult psyche. I became a renowned therapist in New York and on top of all the money I inherited from my parents, I started earning a hefty salary myself. One day after Christopher and I got married, I realised that all the money in the world meant nothing if I couldn't do any good with it, we had been told a couple of years earlier that I was unable to have children…Remembering the way my life was devastated as a teenager, the way nobody wanted me because I was too old, the way I felt so alone in the world, it all spurred me on to help out wherever I could. I registered as a legal guardian and signed up with the state and eventually they contacted us to ask if we would look after the twins, I've never looked back since." Olivia smiled and reached out slowly giving Melinda a questioning glance before taking her hand "you and I are a lot alike, you know. It's never going to be _okay_ that you lost them Melinda, but I promise you it **will** get better."

They questioned back and forth until after midnight when Olivia yawned and looked at the clock "goodness, I didn't realise it was so late…time really does fly when you're having fun I guess. How about we continue tomorrow?" Melinda smiled and nodded "thank you…for everything" she whispered with a shy smile before shutting the door behind her and heading back to her room. Melinda changed into an oversized T-shirt which had been a gift from her dad when he went on a trip to London, England. Sighing, she walked back over to the glass wall and looked around for some way of opening it, she spotted a small keypad on the wall, it was hidden behind the heavy purple curtains which were hanging on either side. There was a post-it-note stuck above it, it was blank on the front but the back was crammed with small scratchy handwriting which read –**Hard to figure out huh? LOL the code is 000000 right now, type that in and then type in a new one. Once it's unlocked you can push the door, it will slide itself open x Jim x**

Melinda smiled to herself and typed in the code, it lit up red, then green and she typed in her new password 121708, it was a date 12/17/08…the day she was saved. Melinda pushed the door and waited while it slid open smoothly, she stepped outside and smiled as she breathed in the cool air, it was pitch black outside and she couldn't see past the nearest row of trees. The balcony wrapped around the left side of her room, stopping at the outside wall of the bathroom and all the way around to the right side of Jims' bedroom. She noticed that his curtains were open and decided to go back inside so that he didn't think she was snooping, she quietly climbed into the huge bed and pulled the heavy quilt up to her chin. It was 12:30 when Mel finally fell asleep, surrendering her mind to the relentless nightmares which insisted on torturing her night after night.

Jim tossed and turned as his peace was broken into by choked sobs coming from next door, he lay in bed listening while Melinda whimpered in her sleep and considered going to wake her up but decided against it. He pulled his pillow over his head and tried to force himself to sleep.

**Please Revieeewww xx Lolly xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended! **

**Thank you sooo much for all of the kind reviews guys, it's incredible encouragement…I will update as frequently as I possibly can x x Much Love x x Read and Revieeeeeew x Enjoy…Lolly x x**

Melinda woke up from her nightmare at 4:00am on Tuesday morning and cried until her violent sobs whittled down to choked whimpers and she had no tears left, she went out onto the balcony to clear head and stayed there for over an hour just thinking, she eventually went inside and watched from behind her glass wall as the sun rose, turning the violet sky a vibrant shade of pink and then clear blue. When the clock hit 8:00am Melinda picked out an outfit from her closet and headed to the bathroom where she took a long shower and washed her hair.

Once she had finished and stepped out of the shower followed by a cloud of steam, Mel took her hairbrush from the small table in the bathroom and brushed through her long brown hair, she wiped away the steam from the mirror in front of her and frowned when she saw her refection, as always a nervous pout played on her lips and her eyes were framed with faint but noticeable bruise like shadows from lack of sleep, her collar bone was very prominent as were the outlines of the ribs just underneath.

She sighed and headed back to her bedroom to get dressed, she had chosen a gray boyfriend-cardigan over a long black tank top with a short denim ripped-style skirt, gray leggings and black ballet-pump dolly shoes. Once she was dressed she applied her makeup, a simple smoky-eye and neutral lip-gloss and then curled her hair loosely. With one last look in the mirror she gave herself a spray of perfume and headed downstairs, when she walked into the kitchen she was met with a smiling Olivia and a very tired looking Jim.

She smiled at both of them and sat down on a stool at the kitchen table opposite Jim "did you sleep well Melinda?" Olivia asked while pouring her a glass of OJ, Melinda nodded and accepted the drink with a smile, she looked up to see Jim looking at her with a very worried expression, she put her head down to avoid his intense stare "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to look at cars today, only if you want to" Olivia said.

Melinda's eyes widened and she nodded with enthusiasm "I'll drive you out to the city if you like, but we'll have to leave pretty soon, it should take about two hours. I tell you what, why don't you come with me to my office and then we'll head out." Melinda followed Olivia back to the room that they were in the day before but this time they went straight through into a huge bedroom. Olivia disappeared into her closet and re-emerged with a jacket and purse "Melinda, would you be okay if Jim came with us? You don't have to say yes at all sweetheart, it's just that the twins have gone to spend a couple of days with their grandmother and Holly's visiting her mom, she's in a care centre for cancer patients, that's why she can't look after her. Times like these are very hard for Jim and I imagine they might be for you too, everyone's is off visiting families and Jim has nobody, I'm always hesitant to leave him alone at times like this. He withdraws into himself even more than usual, perhaps having you around will help him Melinda, I know you have trouble trusting new people, but believe me he's worth the wait …" Olivia said, Melinda thought for less than a second then nodded, she smiled and added quietly "I like him", Olivia smiled "I can tell, and I can also tell that he likes you too, I was shocked to see him comforting you yesterday, he's normally very reserved…quiet. He's a lovely boy Melinda, you two have quite a bit in common." She mused.

"I'm gonna go grab my purse" Melinda said, she left through the office and smiled sadly as she saw Jim dozing off on his arm at the kitchen table, she grabbed a pen from next to the phone and wrote on her hand –**come with?** – before tapping him on the shoulder and waiting as his head jerked up and he yawned, she showed him her hand and bit her lip as he stared at it with a surprised look on his face, he looked into her eyes and smiled, she returned it and reached out to him and cupped his cheek, then turned and went up the stairs to get her purse –what did I just do?- she thought, surprised at her own confidence –_there's something different about Jim, I feel so safe when I'm around him, at peace_.-thinking about what Olivia had said, she sighed and felt tears prickle at her eyes –_Olivia was right, I have nobody, there's no family to visit, no one to care. I know exactly how Jim feels…- _in that second Melinda vowed to do anything she could to help Jim feel better, she knew that she had nothing to fear when she was around him and wanted to be the one to show him that he wasn't alone.

She grabbed her purse and headed downstairs where Jim and Olivia were waiting "are you sure you don't want something to eat before we go Melinda?" Olivia asked, Mel shook her head "no thank you" she said quietly, they headed out and Melinda noticed that there were no cars in the driveway, she followed Olivia around the side of the house and spotted an eight car garage which was bigger than two small houses put together. The door rose smoothly as they approached and a double beep was followed by the flashing headlights of a 2003 Jaguar XF, Melinda smiled and ran her hand along the roof, when she saw Jim looking at her curiously she smiled and climbed in next to Jim in the backseat, Olivia put the radio on and they drove in a comfortable quietness.

Two hours later they pulled into a BMW showroom, they climbed out of the car and were greeted by a handsome and very camp looking young man in a hot pink shirt with a purple polka-dot tie and black slacks, "Mrs Jenner, darling, back again I see, are we looking for this lovely young lady today?" he asked looking at Melinda, Olivia smiled and nodded "this is the newest addition to our family, Melinda" He gave her a wide grin "fabulous to meet you sweetheart, I'm Chase, let's take a walk guys". They followed him through a parade of the latest models until Melinda spotted one at the end of the line raised up on a platform, it was a dark purple and had doors which opened upwards, one was open above it and the other closed, the sign read BMW M3 Mod. Melinda walked up to it and peaked inside, Chase popped his head through the window on the other side "I see someone has very good taste! This BMW M3 is the only one of its' kind, it was modified by Design Dynamix for the Paris Tuning Show, a hefty price tag but worth every cent, would you like to take it on the track?" he asked hopefully, Melinda bit her lip as she studied the car then nodded, "okay, if you guys go wait out front I'll bring it around" he said.

Melinda Jim and Olivia went back out to the front of the building "What do you think?" she asked Olivia, "It's amazing Melinda, one of a kind, just like you. Would you like me to come with you for the drive?" Melinda nodded gratefully then turned to Jim "will you come too?" she asked, Jim smiled and nodded "sure, that's the first time you've ever spoken to me" he said happily, Melinda looked down with a shy smile "I'm sure it won't be the last" she said quietly, just then Chase drove up in the gorgeous new car and the doors opened upwards smoothly, and he stepped out "do you have your licence with you Melinda?" he asked, she nodded and handed it to him, "jump in guys!" he yelled clapping his hands like a little kid. Olivia and Jim climbed in the back, Chase got in the passenger seat and Melinda sat behind the wheel.

She revved the engine and smiled as she heard the soft purr, "turn right here" Chase said pointing at the side of the building, they turned to a gate which opened to reveal a large driving track with small hills and turns, "It should only take around 10 minutes, now, it's not a race track so don't feel like you have to max out the speed dial, but if you do wanna go all 'need for speed' on us…don't hold back, right, belt up everyone." They did their seatbelts up and set off onto the track, Melinda drove fast but steadily at 70mph, "you're a very confident driver Melinda, I'm glad my baby will be in safe hands, I just have a feeling that this is the car for you", Melinda smiled at him "me too" she said. They drove for a few minutes with Chase chatting the whole way before Melinda pulled a very slick 3point turn and parallel parked in a space right next to the back entrance of the showroom "Nicely done!" Chase yelled, "so what do you think" he asked, Melinda put on an exaggerated thinking face then smiled "I think…that's my car" she said excitedly. "Alright! You have some papers to sign, the rest is up to you…we can have it delivered, or you can come back another day and pick it up…or if you want, you could just drive it straight home now. Let's head to the office".

One hour later and Melinda was walking out of the building as the proud owner of the modified BMW M3, she had paid for the car herself but much to her disagreement Olivia had insisted that the insurance was on her. Chase came out with her car keys and dangled them in front of her "are you gonna drive home, get it delivered, or delayed pick-up?" he asked, Melinda looked at Olivia hopefully "can I drive home, please?" she asked, Olivia smiled and nodded "of course, I'd go with you but I can't leave my car here, will you be alright on your own?" she asked worriedly. Melinda bit her lip and looked at Jim, "would you mind, uh…only if you want to, it's just-" Melinda stuttered, Jim cut her off "Yes…I'd like that" he said, Melinda bit her lip and smiled at him "thanks" she said quietly. Olivia looked between the two of them with a curious expression, before smiling and shaking her head as if dismissing a thought "I'll see you back at home then…oh! I have to pick up my dry-cleaning in town, Jim would you be able to direct Melinda to the house once we get to the bridge?" she asked, Jim nodded "sure, I know the way" he said confidently. "If you need me call me okay, I'll see you later" she climbed into her Jag and drove off with a final yell of "drive safe!".

Chase handed Melinda her car keys and she let out an uncharacteristic squeal, Jim smiled at her and watched as she happily pressed the button on the key which made the doors open, they climbed in and Melinda started the engine. "Thank you for coming with me" she said sweetly to him "thank you for letting me" Jim replied smoothly. "I like it here, it's not like what I imagined" Melinda said after a few minutes, Jims' face took on a curious expression "what were you expecting?" Melinda sighed "to be the outcast, for nobody to speak to me" she took a deep breath, "to be hated" she added quietly. Jims' brow creased and he found himself deeply saddened by the fact that anyone, let alone such a beautiful and quiet person, would expect hatred, "nobody could ever hate you, Melinda, don't ever expect that" he said seriously, he said it with such compassion that it brought tears to Melinda's eyes, she wiped them away and pulled over into the lay-by at the side of the road, "are you okay?" Jim asked, Melinda turned to him with tears in her eyes "I don't know, I like it here so much and I don't want to sound ungrateful, I really don't…I just, I want my life back…I feel like I just had the rug pulled out from under my feet and I just can't get back up again….I miss them so much" she added in a whisper, tears were now falling down her cheeks and Jim felt a tightness in his chest as he watched her grieve. Jim slowly reached out and ran his hand up Melinda's arm, she put her hand atop his and he brought it to his mouth and pressed a chaste kiss on it before wiping the tears from her cheeks. "You want me to drive?" Jim asked softly, Melinda nodded so Jim climbed out of the car and walked around to the drivers' side while Melinda climbed over the seat on the inside. "Thank you" she said quietly as he pulled out onto the road, Melinda rested her head against the black tinted window and closed her eyes. Jim smiled as he glanced at Melinda, her peaceful face no longer holding any sign of her earlier sadness, he didn't understand why, but Jim felt an overwhelming need to make her feel okay, to make her feel wanted and to let her know that she should never expect anything less than best.

Two hours later and Melinda was jostled out of her comfortable sleep by a deep smooth voice, "we're here, Melinda, unless you wanna camp out here tonight" Jim asked jokingly, Melinda smiled "mmmh, ughh I can't believe I fell asleep, that was like the best rest I've had in months" she climbed out of the car and tripped over her own feet, Jim's arms shot out protectively and he steadied her, "thanks" she said. Jim pressed the button on the key and the car doors slid down and locked, "congrats on the new car by the way" he said flashing Melinda a heart-stopping smile. Melinda followed him back into the house and sat at the kitchen table, "Uh, I'm gonna make a sandwich, you want one?" Jim asked while opening the fridge, Melinda's eyes widened and she shook her head, "no thanks", they sat at the table in a comfortable silence while Jim ate.

Melinda wondered what everybody normally spent their days doing, "so what's there to do around here?" she asked, Jim got up to wash his plate "uh, there are two pools, indoor and outdoor, the forest outside is great for taking a walk, the town has a movie theatre and a mall, there are lots of little stores down there…oh, there's a games room too, want me to show you?" he asked, Melinda smiled and nodded, happy that she had found a way of keeping Jim company, but also herself, she felt safe around him, for the first time in a long time she trusted someone. Melinda couldn't explain the way she felt, but she needed to be around him, he made her feel almost normal again, she didn't have to guard her thoughts and feelings, she had only known him for 24 hours and already Melinda Gordon was falling, falling fast.

She followed Jim through the lounge and dining room to a door which opened to reveal stairs which led down to what she could only assume was the basement, she felt her breathing become shaky "um, maybe this isn't such a good idea Jim, I don't think I wanna go down there" she said, Jim stopped a couple of stairs down and turned to her, "hold my hand, you're safe" he said, Melinda instantly relaxed and took his hand, she followed a couple of steps behind him and soon they were in the amazing converted basement, there were overhead studio lights on the ceiling, two couches in front of a ridiculously large wall-mounted plasma screen TV , speakers in each corner of the room, a pool table, a foosball table, a fully stacked bookcase, a fridge, a glass cabinet full of various games consoles and a floor to ceiling shelving unit packed with DVD's. Melinda let out a low whistle which earned a smile from Jim "You wanna watch a movie?" Jim asked, Melinda smiled "you don't have to do this you know, hang out with the new kid, I know you probably have a billion things you'd rather do" Melinda said jokingly as she browsed over the DVD's, Jim slowly came up behind her and whispered in her ear softly "I can't even think of one", he brushed his lips against her neck so softly that Melinda wondered if she had imagined it.

Jim reached in front of her and ran his finger along a line of DVD's "what kind of movies do you like?" he asked softly, still very close to her, "uh, um I like horrors most I guess, but I'm cool with whatever you want" she said –_If only he knew how true that was, I think I would actually do anything he asked me to right now, he makes my thoughts go all jumbled!- _she thought, "how about this one? I've never seen it" Mel asked holding out 'The Hills Have Eyes 2', Jim's eyes widened "that's not a good idea Melinda, choose something else, that's not a good movie for you to see right now" Melinda's brow creased and she wondered what was so bad about the movie, she had seen plenty of horrors in her time and loved them. She put it back on the shelf, "this one?" Melinda asked holing up 'Boogeyman', Jim took it from her hands, opened the case and placed the disc in the player "this one's perfect" he said, Melinda sat on one end of the couch and shivered as she touched the cold leather.

Jim was at the fridge getting himself a coke, "want one?" he asked, Melinda bit her lip "uh, yes please" she said and her body gave another involuntary shiver which didn't go unnoticed by Jim, "you're cold" he said more to himself than to her, he put the two coke cans on a small table beside the sofa, "will you be alright on your own for a minute, I should probably let Olivia know we're down here", Melinda smiled at his thoughtfulness, "I'm fine, and thanks Jim" she said.

Jim ran up the stairs taking them two at a time, Olivia was sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper "Hey sweetheart, I wondered where you were…where's Melinda?" she asked curiously, Jim smiled "in the basement..uh…we're gonna watch a movie" he said shyly, Olivia raised her eyebrows and smiled "you're good with her Jim, I was a little worried about how she'd react to having three guys in the house but she seems to have taken a liking to you" she said, Jim smiled and looked down "I like her too, I hardly even know her but…I want to be the one who makes her better, I can't explain it…like yesterday when she freaked out before dinner, I can't even tell you how it felt when she turned to me…-uh anyway-awkward, uh..I'm gonna go get a blanket for her" Jim said, embarrassed that he had over-shared, he had gotten so lost in thought that he voiced everything without even thinking. "Jim, be gentle with her okay, I know that you are anyway but I'm just saying, as we saw yesterday there are things that trigger a bad reaction from her, what happened to her was awful and I don't want her to be scared any more, she trusts you already…take care of her okay" Olivia said in a soft loving tone, Jim smiled and nodded.

He ran up the two flights of stairs to his room, wondering what exactly had happened to Melinda, all he knew was that her parents were murdered, he didn't know the how's, why's or when's. He pulled two of his pillows off his bed, then went into Melinda's and did the same, on the way back down he pulled a very large blanket out of the linen closet then headed back to the basement passing a rather amused looking Olivia.

"I think that was more than a minute" he said as he walked down the last few stairs, Melinda jumped and giggled as she saw him hidden behind a pile of bedding, "you didn't have to do that you know" Melinda said, Jim shook his head "you _still_ don't get it…I want to" he said before throwing a pillow at her, she caught it smoothly and stuck her tongue out with a smug smile. Jim pressed play on the DVD player the sat down on the opposite end of the couch and swung his legs up like Melinda's, she lifted hers up and waited for Jim to get comfortable before resting them on top of his, Jim handed her a second pillow then threw the blanket over both of them, the two of them snuggled down under the covers and the movie marathon began.

I'll update soon….I PROMISE it won't be any later than tomorrow x Please review x x lolly x x


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of it's characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended! **

**Thanks again for all of the love xx This chapter is a little more sad than the others....but with hurt there's always comfort xx ENJOY xx Lolly xx**

Melinda and Jim watched three movies after 'Boogeyman' and when they finally stopped it was past dinner time, "let's go get something to eat" Jim said, they carried all of their stuff up to the lounge and left it in a neat pile on the couch.

Olivia had already laid the table and was serving up spaghetti Bolognese, Chris was washing his hands at the kitchen sink "hey kids, where have you been hiding?" he asked "basement, we had a movie marathon" Jim said happily, Christopher smiled widely at both of them "nice! I'm glad someone's making use of the basement, everyone else has disappeared, the others will be back tomorrow evening." The four of them sat at the dining room table and Melinda began to worry when her plate of food was placed in front of her, "thank you" she said nervously to Olivia, as soon as the words were out of her mouth she felt the all too familiar sensation of being pulled into a flashback

-_Melinda was weak and tired, lying alone and beaten on the floor, she was shivering violently with cold and exhaustion, she had been in the motel for three days without any sleep or food. One of the less violent men, who so far hadn't personally hurt Melinda at all, came into the room carrying a polystyrene cup full of soup "drink it" he said holding the cup out to her, Melinda tried to push herself up but her weak arms failed halfway and she crumpled back to the floor hitting it hard and shivering even harder than before so that she was almost convulsing. "Shit! James, get in here! I think we pushed her too far man she can't even get up! What do we do man? This wasn't part of the plan, we were meant to crack the safe and get the hell out of there, now we're murderers…I won't let her die too." He said frantically, his conscience tormenting him relentlessly as he looked at Melinda's tiny broken body. "Pull it together Max, let's just help her out for now, she'll get better…she'll be okay" he said though he sounded as though he was trying to convince himself. Max picked Melinda up from the floor and held her in his lap on the bed, he gently propped her head up and blew on the soup before holding a spoonful to her lips, Melinda swallowed the liquid and felt it warm her body._

_Max had fed her half of the cup when a tall, brooding and violent man named David walked in "What the hell is going on here?!" he yelled shoving Max and James away causing Melinda to fall limply onto the bed, "Well did you say thank you to your new best friends?" he sneered, Melinda was too weak to even remember her own name and just lay there shivering and half conscious, "How's about you say thank you to me then baby" he said, softly stroking her face, "new rule kid, this is how we say thank you, got it?" he said, laying down on his side next to Melinda he ran his hand down her back and laughed as he felt her shivering worsen under his touch-_

Melinda snapped out of her trance-like state to find Christopher, Jim and Olivia all kneeling in front of her, she wiped her face as she felt tears rolling down her cheeks, she drew in a shaky breath and whispered "I'm not hungry", before pushing away from the table and bolting through the house and out the front door, she ran straight across the driveway and the grass and into the forest, she didn't stop when she realised she was lost, she didn't stop when she realised it was late, she didn't stop when she was scared…she just didn't stop. Melinda ran until she thought her lungs might burst, she leaned against a tree and fought against another flashback as her mind forced her into the past.

-_Come on sweety it's your first day of high school you can't be late" her mom said, "but I'm tired, just five more minutes mom" she moaned. Her mom laughed and tickled her feet under the covers "Mom stop!, Mom, aaah you're crazy, seriously! you don't play fair!" Melinda giggled and jumped up and out of bed "Well it works doesn't it?" her mom asked smugly, Melinda laughed and threw her pillow at her mom's head-_

Melinda screamed in frustration and pounded the tree with her fists as hard as she could "I want them back!" she sobbed, she kept on drumming her fists into the tree until they were raw, she peered into the pitch black surroundings and was greeted by her father's face

-"_Melinda! It's raining, wanna go make splash baby?" her dad asked as he peered out into the pouring rain, picking her up and spinning her around "yeah daddy we go splasss!" a five year old Melinda squealed clapping her pudgy hands together "We go splasss now? I get my jacket, we go jump" she said demonstrating her jumping skills all the way to the front door where she pulled her jacket down from the table, her dad helped her put it on then wrapped a scarf around her neck and put her wellington boots on, "okay sweety we're ready!" he said, Melinda jumped up and down and clapped her hands "yayayayay! Muninda an daddy a make splasss!" she said, her dad laughed at her mispronunciations and picked her up with a chuckle-_

Melinda fell to her knees on the leaf covered ground and held her head in her hands as she sobbed, the bad memories were bad enough but the good memories were the worst. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to steady her breathing. She began to run despite the fact that her vision was clouded with tears and she had no idea where she was going.

-_"Mom, dad, I'm hom-" BANG…BANG Melinda let out a scream and ran toward the front room, A tall burly man bolted past her and pushed her aside, he was followed by a smaller man with a dark cap on, a muscular and intimidating looking man came next "well, well, well…what do we have here?" he asked with a sneer, "pretty little one huh?" he ran a finger across Melinda's lips and smiled when she tried to shrink away from him, before she knew what was happening she was being carried out of her house by one of the men, there were four others that she could see.-_

Melinda kept on running until she smacked into something hard, at first she thought she had run straight into one of the trees, that was until she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. She pounded her fists against her attacker and screamed bloody murder but he wouldn't let her go, it wasn't until she stopped screaming that she heard his soothing voice "It's me Melinda, it's Jim, please calm down you're okay now I swear…" he said calmly "No! I want them back! I can't do this on my own! I can't do it….why did they have to let me go? Why couldn't they have just finished off what they started…they murdered my mom and dad and then took me and hurt me and made me do things that I don't even understand yet, then they just throw me away like I don't mean anything…I used to mean something Jim, they should have just killed me too because now I don't mean anything!" she broke down into violent sobs and her knees gave way, Jim wrapped his arms around her tiny waist to steady her and then scooped her up into his arms. He whispered to her as he walked quickly through the forest, Melinda's eyes could no longer stay open and she gave in to the exhaustion, resting her had against Jim's chest she drifted into a sleep just as peaceful as the one in the car, it seemed as though being around Jim allowed her to relax.

Jim ran towards Christopher as he spotted him coming their way through the trees, "Jesus!" he yelled "what happened?" he asked worriedly, Jim followed his lead back towards the house "I heard her screaming, she was talking about her parents and then she was like zoned out and when I touched her she freaked out and started hitting me and saying that.." Jim trailed off as he remembered her heart-breaking words, just then Olivia ran over to them from a completely different direction "is she alright Jim? Please tell me she's okay" she said with tears rolling fast down her cheeks Jim sighed "physically, she'll be okay" Jim said carefully, "what do you mean Jim, what happened?", Jim sighed, "she said that someone took her and hurt her and made her do things she didn't understand, she said she couldn't do this alone and that they murdered her parents and they should have killed her too…because she doesn't mean anything anymore" Jim said sadly, a tear rolled down his cheek and dropped onto Melinda's "how can we make her feel better?" Jim asked quietly sounding helpless.

"I wish I knew" Olivia said sadly, they got back to the house and Jim carried Melinda all the way up to her bedroom, he sat on the bed with her in his lap and Christopher gave him a first aid kit, "not yet" Jim said, "she needs to have a shower and clean the cuts before we dress them", Chris smiled proudly at Jim, "right you are son, let's leave Olivia to it, we'll come back when she's done". Jim and Chris stayed in Jim's room while Olivia helped a now awake Melinda to shower, she washed her hair quickly and Olivia wrapped a warm towel around her.

They went back to Melinda's room where she changed into a pair of light cotton purple/pink stripy shorts and a purple tank top. "How are you feeling sweetheart?" Olivia asked, Melinda didn't feel like talking so she just gave a very slight nod, Olivia sighed and gave Melinda a hug whispering in her ear "you mean everything…to all of us" She gave Melinda a smile, "you ready to sleep?" she asked, Melinda shook her head "I can't" she whispered "I…I have nightmares" she said ashamedly, Olivia gave her hand a reassuring squeeze "it's nothing to be ashamed of Melinda, what would make you feel better?" she asked, Melinda bit her lip, in the past three months the most comfortable sleep she had was in the car with Jim, she felt safe enough with him to let her body relax and let its' guard down, she glanced in the direction of Jim's bedroom subconsciously.

Olivia noticed and smiled "shall I ask Jim to sit with you for a while?" she asked, "he'll think I'm stupid" Melinda said sadly, just then Jim and Chris came in with a first aid kit and Jim's blanket "mind if I hang out here for a while?" Jim asked, Melinda smiled gratefully at him "thank you" she whispered. Christopher took a large band aid and placed it on a cut on her knee which she hadn't even noticed, then gently rubbed an antiseptic cream into her grazed hands. "you're a part of our family now Melinda…" Chris said while he rubbed the cream in, he looked into her eyes and held one of her hands in his own "you mean something to us" he placed a kiss on the top of her head and left after saying goodnight, Olivia followed soon after leaving Jim and Melinda sitting on the bed in an awkward silence.

"Sorry I flipped out on you" Melinda said quietly, Jim smiled brightly "so you should be! Mike Tyson, you pack quite a punch!" he joked, Melinda giggled softly and stuck her feet under the covers "Jim, thanks for this you really don't have to stay for long…I just have a little trouble relaxing " she said apologetically, Jim just smiled and pulled the covers up to Melinda's chin "you ready to sleep?" he asked, Melinda nodded and bit her lip "I'm happy you're here" she said quietly slipping down in the bed and pulling the covers up to her shoulders Jim stood up and turned the light of "so am I" he said quietly, he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Melinda's head then sat on the bed next to her and began softly stroking her hair until she eventually fell asleep. After an hour of Melinda's seemingly peaceful sleep Jim went back to his own bedroom and climbed into his bed, within five minutes he too was fast asleep. After a few hours of sleep he was woken by Melinda's sobbing, he considered going to talk to her but decided to give her some privacy.

Melinda sobbed brokenly at 4:00am on Wednesday, she had woken up like clockwork as always and decided to go out onto the balcony to clear her head in spite of the cold. She had become accustomed to the horrific recurring nightmare which haunted her, tonight however, had been different. Melinda sat on the floor and leaned her back on the balcony railings as she recalled her strange dream…

- **she walked through the door to her house with a happy smile playing on her lips, just as she was about to call out to her mom and dad a hand clamped over her mouth, she thrashed against her attacker until she heard his soft voice in her ear, "you'll be okay Melinda, just don't make a sound…I promise, I won't let them hurt you sweetheart." She relaxed against his body and turned to look at him when he released his grip…."Jim?" she whispered, confused. "We need to get out of here fast Melinda, your parents are in danger…just stay quiet" Jim said, he clicked his fingers and Melinda was on his back holding on to his shoulders, he ran up the stairs and stopped outside her bedroom. Melinda was about to speak when his hand flew up to cover her mouth, Jim nudged the door open and in a flash they were under the bed, Melinda gasped as she watched three pairs of feet rush past her bedroom door, she held her breath until she heard the gunshots…BANG…BANG! Melinda looked at Jim with a horrified expression, Jim held her face gently between his hands "You see, it was never your fault Melinda, no matter what you did…it would have ended the same way, you have to stop blaming yourself" Jim said sweetly, he grabbed Melinda's hand and they were transported to the lounge, Melinda screamed out as she saw her parents sprawled out dead on the floor, "take me away from here Jim, please I don't want to be here" she sobbed, Jim smiled sadly and began to fade away "you're on your own Melinda, but you don't have to be…you need to let me in…you're on your own" Jim disappeared leaving Melinda alone with her parents "Why did you leave me here?" she screamed "Why couldn't you take me with you? I'm scared…I don't wanna be alone anymore!". The blood which had pooled around her parents began to rise from the floor and formed two crimson ribbons, they wound around Melinda's body and soaked her clothes in warm sticky blood, soon she couldn't see anything but red, she tried to breath but found it impossible, Melinda's peripheral vision faded to black and was soon followed by the rest of her eyesight, it didn't stop until her world had morphed into darkness-**

_**REVIEWS ARE JIMEL LOOVVVVVVVE X X Lolly X X **_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of it's characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended! **

Melinda leaned against the balcony railings and sighed, she looked around at the beautifully lit sky, the sun had begun to rise creating a pink band across the clouds, she smiled and looked at the window of Jim's bedroom-_literally the guy of my dreams, but what does it all mean? I like Jim…but I hardly know him, he makes me feel so…normal-_Melinda sat out on the balcony for hours just trying to organise her thoughts, she eventually went back to her bedroom and decided to get showered and dressed even though it was only 7:00am.

She picked out a pair of leggings which went to the middle of her calves and ended with a patterned lace cuff, on top she wore a loose purple scoop-neck sweater which reached quite a few inches above her knees and she added a black Chanel waist belt with a silver logo buckle. By 8:30am Melinda was in front of her mirror doing her hair and make-up, just as she finished there was a light knock at her door and she opened it to find Jim standing with two mugs of hot chocolate, he was wearing a black button down shirt with casual faded gray jeans, she smiled at him and motioned for him to come in, he sat on her bed and handed her a mug.

"Thanks" she said with a genuine smile "how'd you sleep last night?" he asked worriedly, Melinda sighed "okay I guess, I woke up kinda early though" she said sipping on her drink, Jim smiled and nodded "you wanna like…hang out today? All girls like shopping right?... I thought maybe I could take you into the city or something" he asked hopefully, Melinda bit her lip and smiled "I'd like that" she said shyly, they finished their drinks at the same time and smiled at each other, Melinda jumped off the bed and grabbed the corner of her quilt. She flicked it so that it landed over Jim's head and let out a loud giggle, Jim threw the covers off himself and gave her a mock evil eye before pulling it across the side he was standing on and helping her to make the bed "so you wanna head out early…beat the traffic?" he asked, Melinda looked at the clock "yeah we should probably leave now so we don't get stuck on the freeway, should we let Olivia know we're gone?" she replied, Jim nodded "yeah we better hurry…she has to drop Chris to work today because his car went in for its M.O.T." Melinda pulled on a pair of purple ballet-pump dolly shoes, grabbed her purse and followed Jim downstairs.

Chris and Olivia were standing in an intimate embrace in the kitchen and Chris was peppering kisses down her neck "Whoa! Please hold back on the parental PDA's!!!!!" Jim yelled covering his eyes, Olivia and Chris jumped apart, Chris threw his hands up in mock surrender and put on an exaggerated guilty face "damn! busted" he said jokingly. Jim and Melinda laughed and threw each other amused looks "uh we're headed out for the day…I'm taking Melinda to the city, we're just gonna hang out" Jim said, Olivia and Chris gave Jim the same amused smile "alright, well I'm picking Holly up at four and the twins said they'll be back by five, do you think you can be back by dinner?" she asked hopefully "sure" Jim said, "we'll be back before seven".

"Be safe kids and keep your cell phones on okay, Jim can I talk to you for a sec" Chris said, Jim shot Mel an apologetic look and followed Chris into the lounge, once they were gone Olivia turned to Melinda "you're okay with all this sweety?" she asked, Melinda smiled widely "I'm more than okay…I…I'm happy" she said with a smile which Olivia returned happily "Melinda, I know that you're a very strong girl but if at any time you feel uncomfortable, like you want to come back home, or you get a little overwhelmed just call me okay, I'm sure Jim will understand…and just so you know, he's not the most secure person in the world either, let him know that you like him okay. If I know Jim, and trust me I do, he's gonna spend the whole day worrying that you're not okay, or that he might say something wrong…he's a wonderful person, he just doesn't know _how_ wonderful" Olivia said, Melinda smiled "I will". Olivia's face took on a worried expression "Honey, on a more serious note…I'd like to talk to you about what happened last night okay, can we fit another session in after dinner?" she asked, Melinda smiled and nodded "sure, that's fine."

Meanwhile Chris and Jim were talking quietly in the lounge "Jim, I know you're a very responsible young man, but I have to say this anyway…Melinda is a very fragile girl, I don't think she can handle being messed around right now, she's already been through way more than any child should have to. I think she's good for you, I don't think I've ever seen you so happy…I'm gonna be honest with you son, we're a little worried about Melinda, especially after last night…I need you to promise me that you'll look after her, okay?" he asked, Jim dismissed the almost-accusation that he would even consider 'messing Melinda around' and nodded "I'll take care of her" he said sincerely. Christopher nodded and they headed back into the kitchen just as Olivia and Melinda finished talking, "you ready?" he asked Melinda, she nodded and smiled, Jim held his hand out to her and she laced her fingers between his. Jim smiled down at her and she gazed up at him from beneath her dark lashes, "okay we'll see you later guys!" Chris yelled as he and Olivia left, Melinda and Jim just stayed rooted to the spot and staring into each other's eyes. Melinda slowly brought one hand up and rested it on Jim's neck gently pulling his head towards hers, Jim placed his hand on her lower back to lift her and close the distance. As soon as they were close enough Melinda pressed her lips to Jim's softly and smiled against his mouth, he returned the smile and pulled away slowly "Just so we're on the same page." Melinda said with a cheeky smile, Jim smiled, leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Melinda's lips "I like this page" he said with a smile.

"I'll drive" Jim said as they walked down the driveway and waited while the door opened, Melinda's eyes widened when the lights flashed on the car next to hers, it was a yellow Porsche 911 "nice ride" she said, Jim smiled and nodded before looking down with a sad expression "it was a gift from my father, for Christmas" he said, Melinda knew not to press for answers so she just nodded and climbed into the car. Five minutes into the trip Jim broke the silence "my dad was a director, my mom was an actress…one day last year there was a release party for my mom's latest play, we spent the day in Vegas- I used to live in Nevada… when we got home my dad cooked this romantic candle-lit dinner and I went to stay at a friends' house. So they had this dinner then headed to bed, they fell asleep pretty quick I guess, so they didn't realise that they forgot to blow out the candles, the table cloth set alight and that caused a chain reaction…by the time the fire-fighters and EMT's got there…my parents had died of smoke inhalation, my grandparents had passed in years gone by so I got pawned off on the state……I inherited everything, but I had nobody." Jim said sadly, Melinda reached over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I'm so sorry Jim, that's awful…but thank you for telling me" she said sympathetically.

They chatted about less serious topics for the rest of the journey and soon Jim was handing over his keys to valet at a small café on Time Square, "it's almost lunchtime…you ready to eat?" Jim asked doubtfully, Melinda shook her head and smiled "I'm not really hungry right now" she lied, Jim gave her a 'yeah right' look and shook his head, "you're never hungry…you need to eat something Melinda at least buy a sandwich or something" he pleaded, "I can't" she whispered, Jim sighed and ordered two cups of hot chocolate and a croissant for himself, they sat at a table in a small alcove and a silence fell between them, Jim sat wondering what Melinda found so scary about food and Melinda sat wondering when she would be able to Jim about what happened to her.

Melinda smiled as she thought about what her life could be like, her coming home from work to find Jim dishing up a romantic dinner for two, she would eat it happily and thank Jim when she was done, afterwards they would chase each other up to the bedroom before curling up in each other's arms and sleeping peacefully through the night. Melinda sighed and shook her head, "you okay?" Jim asked, Melinda smiled "I never thought I'd be okay again, I couldn't see how I could ever get better…I had everything I'd always wanted one day and nothing I needed the next…but right here…with you, for the first time in a long time I just feel…normal, thank you…for letting me be…me" she said sincerely, Jim smiled and took her hand in his and pressed it to his lips softly. "Let's go" he said after a few minutes of exchanging smiles and random conversation.

They walked along the sidewalk until they reached the biggest mall in NYC "We're going camping in three days, I don't know about you but I don't have everything I need for a week in the wilderness" he said with a smile, Melinda shook her head "I don't have anything I'll need, I left all my hiking stuff behind…when I moved into the children's home they asked if I would give some of my stuff to charity, I figured it might as well help someone else out instead of sitting in the back of my closet" she said, Jim nodded and pointed out a 'Timberland' store, "do you have boots?" he asked Melinda shook her head and followed him into the store where they split up to find some shoes for themselves, Jim bought a pair of Orange and Black boots and Melinda bought a pair of knee high beige Timberlands.

Melinda spotted a 'Target' a couple of stores down, "can we go to Target?" she asked, Jim smiled "we can go anywhere you want" he replied sweetly they strolled around the store for a while and Melinda stopped in front of a rack of shorts, she picked up a short black pair and held them against herself in front of a mirror and bit her lip, she decided to buy them in black and pink as well as a few tank tops, a pair of blue light cotton shorts and a couple of new bras.

Meanwhile Jim was picking out random t-shirts, vests, a few flannel shirts and a pair of faded gray jeans. They met up after a while and headed to the queue, the red numbers flashed over cashiers 4 and 5, Jim and Melinda headed to the counters and the shop assistant began scanning the items. Much to Melinda's dismay she had ended up with a rather talkative girl who was around the same age as her, as she scanned one of the bras Melinda had chosen she held it up with a shocked expression "OH. My. God. You and I like totally have the same taste she said using her hands for emphasis as she spoke, Melinda blushed crimson as she saw Jim watching from the next counter with an amused smile playing on his lips, the girl pushed her tank top aside and showed Melinda her bra strap, "how weird is that?!" she squeaked, Melinda gave a nervous laugh and nodded. Jim let out a chuckle and Melinda threw him a death glare which stopped him in his tracks the girl noticed and smiled "OH! Is that your boyfriend?! Oooh, I see this is for his benefit right!" she said with in a very loud 'knowing' tone with an exaggerated wink, Melinda prayed that the floor would swallow her as the girl analysed all of her other purchases before finally letting her pay and go.

As soon as they were outside of the shop Jim burst out laughing, Melinda slapped his arm and frowned "that was so NOT funny" she complained "I thought it was hilarious" Jim chuckled, they spent a couple more hours shopping around before Melinda spotted 'Victoria's Secret', she desperately wanted to go in there but felt awkward telling Jim, he noticed her discomfort and looked in the same direction as her, noticing the store he smiled "what, you don't think I can hold my own against an army of pink panties?" he joked. Melinda smiled "you don't mind?" she asked looking surprised, "nah Me and Mitch went in there on a dare once…didn't seem that bad, I can leave you alone for a while if you want" he said, Melinda shook her head "I'm happy if you're happy" she said honestly.

They headed into Victoria's Secret and the real Melinda came out to play, she picked up various items and tried them on leaving Jim to stand with the shopping bags and wait, Jim chuckled as he watched her whiz around the store, it was like watching an athlete in fast-forward Jim had to work extra hard to make his eyes keep up. He watched as Melinda picked up a much more revealing set of bra and panties and tried to hide his reaction as his mind wandered straight into the gutter. As his eyes scanned over a cosmetics counter covered in beautiful creams, oils, body washes and fragrances, Jim spotted a set which caught his eye. He picked up the beautifully decorated pack and looked at the contents there was a lotion, body butter, cream, massage oil, a perfume and a body spray. The title of the range was 'Layers Of Love Spell' and the pack he had was called 'One Of A Kind.' He bought it while Melinda was in the changing room and put the Victoria's secret bag into a larger Barney's bag so that she wouldn't see it until they got home. Unbeknownst to him Melinda had picked out a set for him too, 'Layers of Love Spell For Him, Irresistible', she was currently trying on various 'Slub' Cami and Shorts sets along with some cute pyjamas.

Melinda emerged with all of her purchases and paid at the counter, Jim smiled as he saw the happy look on her face when she was done "someone's happy" he said, Melinda picked went to pick up her other bags but Jim insisted that he would carry them for her, "sorry you had to wait so long, Victoria's Secret it totally my weakness" she said apologetically, Melinda looked at the huge clock in the centre of the mall, 2:30pm, she bit her lip nervously "Jim it's late, you must be starving…let's go to lunch" she said, he looked surprised "are you sure because I can wait-" he was cut off by a particularly loud rumble from his stomach and Melinda let out a giggle. "I'm okay, let's eat" Melinda said decidedly, Jim looked around an spotted Carluccio's, "do you like Italian?" he asked, Melinda nodded and followed him to the restaurant where they waited to be seated, a waiter seated them at a quiet table in the back and brought them the lunch menus. They both ordered panini's and sald and Melinda eventually relaxed enough to eat comfortably.

They finished an hour later and Melinda excused herself to use the bathroom, much to her pleasant surprise Jim stood up when she left the table and waited until she was gone to sit back down, she stood in front of the mirror and smiled when she saw her reflection. She looked happy and relaxed…normal, she knew that it was all because of Jim. She smiled when Jim stood up again when she came back. "We should probably stop at 'The Great Outdoors'" Jim said, Melinda smiled and nodded "That's where I got my last sleeping bag, I need a new one…and a oooh and a jacket" she mused, Jim smiled they walked back to the café which they had started at and dropped of their shopping into Jim's car before heading to the store.

Once they were there they both purchased sleeping bags and other necessities for the week ahead "how are we sleeping on the trip?" Melinda asked curiously, "Uh, I'm not sure to be honest with you, I guess Mitch and Holly will probably stay together, Olivia and Chris are pretty cool about that, and I assume that Alexis will be inviting someone…either her best friend Ashley or her boyfriend John, which just leaves us. Olivia probably has a couple of smaller tents we could use because I'm sure you'll want to sleep alone and it would be-" Jim's nervous ramblings were cut off by Melinda "stay with me…I want you to" she said, Jim smiled "you sure? I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything I mean I thought that you'd probably like your space and I'm okay with that becau-" Melinda pulled his head down and kissed him, "you need to learn when to stop talking Clancy" she joked, Jim had a happily dazed look on his face and smiled down at her, "I'll talk all day if that's what I get" he said quietly, Melinda smiled and linked her arm through his, "you're so tall" she said when she noticed how she had to reach up to link arms, Jim looked down at her and laughed "I'm not that tall…you're just really small" he said.

"How tall are you exactly?" Jim asked curiously, Melinda bit her lip "5ft2" she said "yeah go ahead and laugh, I'm used to it, my nick-name's been Mini-Mel since kindergarten" she complained, Jim laughed until he saw the serious look on Mel's face "oh…you're not kidding?" he asked Melinda shook her head "We were out on the school yard on our first day and my best friend Susan decided to climb on the jungle gym…I couldn't even reach the first bar! Nobody was really making fun of me, it was more of a term of endearment but it still sucks", Jim laughed and squeezed Mel's arm with his own.

"Anything else you wanna get?" Jim asked, Melinda thought about it for a second then shook her head "nope, I'm good…It's 4:30 anyway so we should probably head back so we can get home before 7" she said.

They walked back to the car after getting the keys from valet and climbed in, as soon as they sat down Melinda turned to Jim "thank you so much for today, you know what…right here with you, I haven't been this happy in a very long time." Melinda said sweetly, Jim smiled "neither have I Melinda, neither have I" he said. Jim leaned towards her and kissed her softly on the lips, she leaned into the kiss and Jim brought his hand up to cup her cheek. They broke apart and smiled at each other happily, Melinda settled into her seat and Jim started the car, as they headed out onto the freeway Melinda found herself drifting into a light sleep.

**REEEEEEVIEEEEEEEW xx Lolly xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of it's characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended! **

Thanks so much you guys, to everyone who reviews/story alert/author alert/ fave story/ fave author….a major shout out to those who review almost/every chapter… I love that you stick with me like that x x x Lolly x x x

Jim smiled as he glanced at Melinda who was now fast asleep and looking peaceful, while he was sitting in a line of traffic he took his warm jacket and draped it over her and smiled when he saw her snuggle down into it. Two hours later he pulled into the driveway, he looked at Melinda and saw that she was still absolutely fast asleep- _she must have slept badly again after I left least night-_ he thought guiltily. He climbed out of the car and gathered all of their shopping bags, there were so many that he could barely walk straight so he was grateful when Olivia opened the front door for him, he walked through and thanked her before carrying all of their bags up to Melinda's room and resting them on the floor, he ran back down the stairs where Olivia was waiting "where's Melinda?" she asked worriedly, Jim smiled "out like a light as soon as we hit the freeway" he called over his shoulder as he walked back out to the car. He knocked on Melinda's window and opened the door softly so she wouldn't fall out, "Jim?" she whispered sleepily, Jim's heart gave a little leap as she spoke his name and he softly kissed the top of her head "it's me Mel, we're home" he said quietly, Melinda yawned and stretched before sitting up and looking around.

"I slept the whole way?" she said sounding surprised, "yeah, five minutes and you were snoring like a hack saw" he joked, Melinda gave him a mock evil eye and climbed out of his car, "thanks for the jacket" she said, Jim nodded and held his hand out to her, she took it happily and smiled. Jim brought his other hand to the side of her neck and leaned down to kiss her. Melinda leaned into the kiss and felt butterflies flutter in her stomach, with a new found confidence she ran her tongue hungrily along Jim's bottom lip, he parted his lips and allowed Melinda to deepen the kiss, they didn't break apart until the need for oxygen forced them to. They stood staring at each other for a few seconds before Jim broke the silence "I could get used to that" he said happily, "please do" Melinda breathed before pulling him back down and kissing him passionately, Jim moaned into the kiss which made her smile, "we better go inside" she said though she didn't sound like she really wanted to, Jim nodded in a daze and followed Melinda back to the house after she locked the garage.

They had barely gotten through the door when they were met by Christian and Olivia, "did you have a nice time?" "Are you alright Melinda?" they asked simultaneously, Melinda giggled and nodded "we had a great time and yes I'm fine, Jim is a great bodyguard" she joked, Christian breathed a sigh of relief and Olivia smiled. Christian glanced down at Melinda and Jim's hands which were still laced together, Jim was pleasantly surprised when Melinda didn't pull away, and instead she just smiled and squeezed his hand. Olivia raised her eyebrows and smiled "well…dinner is ready, we're having Indian food…well my version anyway." They walked into the dining room where the twins and Holly were already starting to dish up their dinner, everyone greeted them and asked them about their day.

Melinda bit her lip as she looked at the food on her plate which didn't go unnoticed by Jim, he leaned into her and whispered in her ear "pretend it's just us" he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek and smiled. Melinda smiled back and began to eat slowly but surely, by the time the plates were being cleared she had eaten more than half of her food. Jim smiled as did Olivia and Christian, everybody began to leave the table and once again Melinda helped to clear the dishes away, Christopher began the washing up and Olivia called Melinda into her office. Melinda began to feel slightly unwell as she made her way to the office, her stomach was churning and she felt as though she might be sick. Olivia asked her about her day and how Jim looked after her and Melinda happily answered all of her questions, after an hour she began to feel really under the weather and asked Olivia if she could go to bed. "Of course sweetheart, let me know if there's anything you need okay" she said worriedly, Melinda nodded and rushed out of the room and up both flights of stairs. She headed straight to the bathroom, locked the door and sat on the side of the bathtub cradling her head in her hands, after a couple of minutes she felt her stomach flip and leaned over the toilet to be sick.

Melinda's body had become so accustomed to not eating much at all that she did more harm than good by following lunch with such a rich meal. After a while there was a knocking on the door Melinda was still heaving over the toilet and so unable to answer "Melinda it's Christopher, can you open the door sweetheart?" he asked sounding very concerned, Melinda shook her head even though he couldn't see her and just about managed to whimper an "I can't." Next came Olivia's voice, "Melinda we have a key that unlocks the bathroom door, is it okay if I use it?" she asked, Melinda was right at the other end of the bathroom and didn't feel as though she could walk all the way to the door, she pulled herself back onto the side of the bathtub "yeah" she said as loud as she could which was actually pretty quiet. She leaned over to the sink and rinsed her mouth out which made her feel a lot better and then flushed the toilet just as Olivia and Chris came in. "Are you okay Melinda?" Christopher asked, she nodded "Sweetheart you need to be honest with me okay, we won't judge you and you're not in any trouble, just tell me…did you make yourself sick?" he asked worriedly. Melinda looked offended and hurt, "no…I just started feeling ill after I ate and my stomach went all weird so I came up to the bathroom and after a couple of minutes I was sick." She said, she picked up her toothbrush and toothpaste and brushed her teeth while Olivia and Christian stood and watched her worriedly.

Olivia sighed "Melinda sweetheart, I promise you you're not going to get in any trouble oka-" "I said I didn't do it!" Melinda yelled with tears in her eyes, she ran out of the bathroom and into her bedroom locking the door behind her. She stormed to the end of her bedroom and punched in the code to open the balcony doors, as soon as she got outside she started to cry –_why would they accuse me of making myself ill, I knew I'd be hated here…everyone thinks I'm an anti-social bulimic cry-baby asshole! This is why I shouldn't eat in the first place! This is why I should never have opened my God-damned MOUTH!-_she thought angrily, she climbed over the railings of the balcony and walked across the roof of the first floor, as she neared the edge she spotted a tree which she could easily use to climb down, she ran back into her bedroom and grabbed her car keys and cell-phone. As she got inside she heard Olivia's worried voice coming from the other side of her door, feeling a surge of anger she turned the other way and walked straight back out onto her balcony and locked the door behind her. She put her cell phone and keys in a pocket in her sweater and climbed over the railings again. Once she reached the branch of a tree which rested on the roof she climbed out onto it and easily made her way down to the ground, it really wasn't that high and Melinda was great at climbing.

She made her way to the garage and waited impatiently while it opened, once she got inside she started her car and thanked God for the fact that the engine was so quiet. She pulled out of the drive way and sped out onto the main road, not really knowing where else to go she followed the same route that her and Jim had taken that morning, as soon as she hit the empty freeway she decided to let loose and max out on her speed dial.

Back at the house Olivia had begun to get very worried, Jim walked past to go to his room, "hey Olivia, have you and Melinda finished in your office?" he asked, he looked back and forth between the two of them "what's going on, where's Mel?" he asked worriedly as he noted their expressions, Chris sighed "I was coming up here to make sure she was okay and I walked past the bathroom, she locked herself in there and was being sick. Livvy and I went in there and she was cleaning up…we asked her a couple of questions and she got a little upset, she ran into her bedroom, locked the door and won't speak to us." She said guiltily, Jim frowned "what exactly did you ask her?" he asked, Olivia bit her lip "we needed to know Jim, we asked her if she had made herself sick…she said she didn't but it really upset her…we should have been more sensitive about it" she said ashamedly.

Jim sighed "Melinda, it's Jim…will you come out, for me?" he yelled worriedly, met with a dead silence he went into his room and out onto the balcony, Melinda was nowhere to be seen but he could see straight into her room as she had left her light on and curtains open. He ran back into the hallway "she's gone" he said frantically, "what do you mean?" Christopher asked, "her light is on and I can see straight into her room she must have slipped out" he said. "We came straight up after her, the only way she could have left was if she…jumped" Olivia said sounding very scared, Jim bolted past both of them and straight down the stairs. He ran outside and looked around but found no trace of her anywhere, he waited nervously while the garage opened and felt his heart sink when he saw that her car was missing "DAMN IT!" he yelled feeling frustrated, he ran back into the house where Olivia and Christopher were coming down the stairs "she took her car" Jim said breathlessly, Olivia's eyes widened and she held onto Chris' arm "what are we gonna do, she could be anywhere…what if something terrible happens, it would be all my fault" she said with tears evident in her voice. Jim felt his heart beat fast as he thought about all of the horrific situations that Melinda could end up in, he tried his hardest to think where she could have gone. Olivia called Melinda's cell phone but it just rang until it reached voicemail.

Jim pulled his cell phone out and dialled Melinda's number and nervously waited while it rang, after a few rings Melinda answered but didn't speak, "Melinda where are you?" he asked worriedly, he put her on loud speaker but no reply came, "talk to me Melinda please, where are you?" he asked he heard a small sniffle and then Melinda's soft quiet voice "I just want to be that happy again" she said sadly before hanging up. Olivia wiped a tear from her eye "what does that mean? I don't understand…" she asked sadly, Jim's head snapped up –_I just want to be that happy again……"thank you so much for today, you know what…right here with you, I haven't been this happy in a very long time."-_"I know where she is" he said with certainty, "keep your cell on and I'll call you as soon as I'm with her" he said not waiting for an answer, he grabbed his car keys and ran out to the garage with Christopher hot on his heels. They jumped into his car and sped down the freeway.

Melinda sped all the way until the bridge which crossed into the city, she turned right into the café where she and Jim had gone, climbed out and gave her keys to valet. It was now 10:00pm and the café was lit up and looked warm and inviting, Melinda ordered a hot chocolate-to-go and wandered onto Time Square, she sat down on the steps below a memorial and sighed.-_How has everything gone from great to horrible in just a few hours? I can't believe that they would think…I bet they've told Jim by now, he's gonna think I'm a freak, just like everybody else does…-_Melinda felt a hot tear burn down her cheek as she watched a couple walk past holding hands, they were swinging their arms slightly and laughing at something the man had said, Melinda folded her arms on her knees and rested her head on them.

Jim and Christopher arrived at the café only half an hour after Melinda,10:30pm, Jim gave his keys to valet and searched the inside, not finding Melinda anywhere they decided to head out onto the square. After a few minutes of walking around Chris spotted a tiny girl in a purple sweater and leggings sitting on the memorial steps, "Melinda!" he yelled out to her, she spun around and wiped furiously at her tear streaked face, "you're okay" he breathed running towards her. Melinda stood up and wrapped her arms around herself "come here sweetheart" he said softly as he slowly edged closer and closer to Melinda. "Mel!" Jim shouted from behind her, she spun around and looked at the distraught expression on his face.

Jim walked straight up to her and pulled her into his arms without hesitation and she didn't even flinch, she just allowed herself to melt into his embrace "I told you! I told you that I'd be hated and I was right, they all hate me…please Jim, I don't want you to hate me too" she said sadly, Jim loosened his grip on her and stared into her eyes "no matter what happens or where we are, I could _never _hate you" he said sincerely before kissing Melinda passionately again and again until they heard Chris clear his throat "uh, I'm gonna take your car Jim, will you be alright to drive Melinda home?" he asked, Jim nodded "thanks, we'll be fine Chris" he said. Chris nodded and headed off in the direction of the café.

Jim turned back to Melinda "Livvy told me what happened" he said quietly, Melinda pulled away from him "I didn't do it!" she yelled "I know Mel, I know" he said in a comforting tone, "but you have to understand where they're coming from, they were told before you came that you didn't eat and that they had to take you into hospital a couple of times because you got so dehydrated, then you come here and you're like _really _small and you refuse to eat until today, you eat an almost decent sized portion and then an hour later they hear you puking your guts up locked in the bathroom. What would you think?" he asked rationally, Melinda stared at him incredulously-_I can't believe he agrees with them!-_she thought angrily.

"Come here" he said reaching out to Melinda "no" she said quietly, she walked a few paces ahead of Jim and stood at her cars drivers side, "let me drive Melinda" Jim said worriedly, "no, give me my keys _James_" she said coldly, Jim handed her the car keys and dialled Olivia's number "Jim, where are you? Are you with Melinda, Is she okay?" came Olivia's frantic voice "she's fine, I think I may have just pissed her off even more though, yeah, I'll see you soon" he said. Jim glanced at the clock and noted that it was already 10:45pm, they drove in silence for a few minutes before Melinda let out a frustrated huff "sorry I was rude to you" she said quietly, Jim smiled "you're not very good at being an ass Melinda, you're meant to last at least like an hour" he joked which made Melinda giggle.

"I used to take dance lessons" she started quietly, Jim listened patiently and waited for Melinda to continue "I came home one day and…I yelled out to my mom and dad…I didn't know that there was anyone else in the house, there were three men robbing everything they could while another two held my parents…" Melinda said "when they heard me yell they shot my mom and dad and started to run" she drew in a shaky breath and shuddered as she thought about the next part of her story, she couldn't understand why but she felt the need to be open with Jim, to make him understand why she acted the way she did- she wanted him to tell her that it was okay, that he understood and that it didn't change the way he looked at her. "I hate to see you so upset Melinda, I feel like…I want to be the one to make it all better, you don't have to tell me the rest right now honey, do it when you're ready not when you think it's best for me" he said sweetly, Melinda gave a sigh of relief and smiled "thank you Jim."

A while later they were finally pulling into the driveway, "thank you for coming to get me Jim, I'm not sure I would have wanted to come back alone tonight." Melinda said, "I want you to know Melinda, I understand that there are things in your past that scare you and hurt you and I know that you're worried that people might think of you differently, but you can't keep running away from us…from how you feel, I promise…you don't have to worry about judgement with me okay, " he said honestly, Melinda nodded "I know that now" she said happily. They climbed out of the car and Melinda yawned, "what time s it?" she asked, Jim checked his phone and let out a low whistle "quarter to one" he said, "Oh God, I bet Olivia's still awake and she's gonna have to wake up early to drop Chris to work…I feel awful" Melinda said with tears evident in her voice, "ssshh honey, don't cry" Jim whispered. They climbed out of the car and Jim took Melinda's hand in his, Melinda tugged on his hand to make him turn around, as soon as Jim was facing her Melinda wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

**LOVE TO ALL……REVIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW….pwease?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of it's characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended! **

Thank you……………………….Enjoy x x Lolly x x

They walked up to the house together and were greeted by a worried looking Olivia "are you okay?" she asked timidly, Melinda nodded "I'm sorry Olivia, I was rude before and I shouldn't have walked out" Melinda said with tears running down her cheeks, Olivia shook her head "no sweetheart, it was my fault, I should have just listened to you…I'm sorry I really am…I shouldn't have assumed-" she trailed off guiltily. Melinda pulled Olivia into a tight embrace, "please don't feel bad, I don't want you to be upset" Melinda said "oh sweetheart, just tell me you're okay" she said in an almost desperate tone, Melinda pulled away and rested her hands on Olivia's shoulders "I'm fine" she lied, she was actually feeling rather conflicted and was constantly aware of the dark cloud of depression which was ever-present. "Are you going to head to bed now?" Olivia asked, Melinda nodded "yeah I'm really tired, I'm sure I'll be asleep as soon as I hit the sheets" she said with false light-heartedness. They hugged goodnight again and Melinda and Jim headed up the stairs, when they reached they reached their hallway Jim turned to Melinda "I'm gonna hit the shower, do want me to sit with you for a while?" he asked kindly. Melinda gave him a half-hearted smile and shook her head "I'll be fine, you wanna grab your bags?" she asked opening the door for him, Jim gathered all of his stuff and rested it on the floor of his bedroom.

"Thanks for everything today Jim, I honestly don't know what I would have done without you" she said sincerely, "thank _you _for letting me be there for you, you gave me more than you know" Jim said, he pulled Melinda towards him, wrapped his arms tightly around her tiny waist and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, Melinda leaned into his chest and smiled "goodnight" she said with tears in her eyes, Jim pulled back and held her my the shoulders at arm's length "are you sure you're okay?" he asked worriedly, Melinda nodded "don't worry about me Jim, I'm fine" she lied. Jim gave her a disbelieving look but went into his room nonetheless leaving Melinda alone with her misery, she shut her door behind her and rooted around in her shopping bags until she found the gift she had bought for Jim, staring at it she felt her eyes begin to fill again-_okay so I've managed to freak out in front of everyone when I met Christopher, have a flashback and run off into the forest, make Jim sit with me until I fell asleep, spend an entire day with Jim-including lunch, eat dinner, throw all that back up again, be accused of being bulimic, jump out of my window and drive off into the city and keep Olivia, Christopher and Jim awake until 1:00am…not to mention that I've had a nightmare every night since I've been here- _she thought dejectedly.

"You are never going to be normal" Melinda told her reflection in the mirror coldly, she undressed and went through her shopping, she neatly folded all of her pyjamas, hung up the clothes and found places for everything else leaving her room clear of all bags. Once she was done she found a T-shirt which reached just above the middle of her thighs and pulled it on, feeling too wired to sleep Melinda went out onto the balcony. As soon as she stepped out into the rain she felt herself relax, she had always loved it, when she was little her dad would wrap her up warm and take her out to the park where they would splash around in muddy puddles and spin around in circles in the rain until they were dizzy then he would take her home, change her clothes, wrap her in a blanket on the sofa and hold her while they watched movies together until their mom came to snuggle with them. Melinda wished that there was somebody to wrap her up at that very moment, somebody to hold her…she sat down and curled up in the rain and cried, because no matter how close she came she just couldn't seem to get back on her feet, not long later she fell asleep curled up on her side with her body barely covered by her now see-through t-shirt, she was freezing cold and soaking wet.

Jim climbed out of the shower and frowned to himself, although Melinda had said that she was okay he felt as though she was just running around to hold all of the pieces and at any minute she would tire and fall apart, he glanced at the clock on the bathroom wall, it was quarter past one. With a sinking feeling in his stomach he made his way to his room and pulled some boxer shorts on, hearing the beating rain he went to check that there was no patio furniture left outside, he gasped when he caught sight of Melinda, her tiny form was crumpled on the floor and it looked as though she had just given up caring about the cold and the rain.

Jim punched in his code and ran outside "Melinda, baby what are you doing?" he asked worriedly, Melinda jumped and stood up quickly looking around with wide fearful eyes "it's okay sweetheart, I need to get you inside okay?" Jim held his arms out to Melinda but she just stared at them, looking as though she feared the end of the world was about to come "I won't hurt you" he said gently as he approached her, "let me hold you Melinda, please" Jim whispered in her ear, she gave a slight nod and Jim wrapped his arms around her. After a minute he place one arm behind her legs and the other behind her back and picked her up in a fireman's hold, she rested her head against his chest and whispered "I just fell asleep…I can walk" Jim smiled down at her and whispered back "I know, but you don't have to" before placing a very light kiss on her head and carrying her into his bedroom to set her down. He ran across to Melinda's room and grabbed a large bath towel from her linens pile then returned to where Melinda was waiting.

"Lift your arms up" he said softly, Melinda did as she was told not noticing when Jim held back a gasp as he saw the way her ribs pushed against her soft skin, he had never before noticed how fragile she looked, she was a foot shorter than him at a tiny 5ft2ins, very slim and had a wide-eyed fearful expression on her face. Melinda shivered as her wet t-shirt was slipped over her head, Jim balled it up and put it on his desk, he gave her a questioning glance in the direction of her bra and she gave a small nod in return. She pulled her hair over one shoulder and turned her back to Jim, he undid the clasp on her bra and waited for her to turn back around before pushing the straps off her shoulders gently, she gasped as the thin fabric fell away from her body and into Jim's hands, he placed her pink lacy bra on top of her t-shirt on his desk and turned back to Melinda. Without looking at her body he picked up the large bath sheet and wrapped it around her before pulling her into a hug "you're gonna be okay Melinda, I promise" he said determinedly.

"Go have a hot shower to warm yourself up, get changed, and then come back here okay" Jim said, Melinda nodded and did as she was told, she showered quickly before drying off and picking out some pyjamas. She put on a black cami and shorts set that she had bought on their shopping trip then fixed her hair and by 1:40am she was knocking on Jim's door holding the gift set that she had bought for him. Jim opened his door quietly and smiled when he saw what she was holding, "great minds think alike I guess" he said before producing the gift he got for Melinda from behind his back, they laughed at each other and both said thank you. Melinda gave Jim a sweet kiss and said goodnight, "no, Melinda stay with me…I want you to stay in here, I don't like the fact that you wake up from nightmares every night alone in a relatively new place…stay with me" he said sweetly.

"Thank you" she said shyly, Jim pulled back the covers from the bed and signalled for Melinda to get in "can we talk first?" she asked nervously, Jim nodded. Melinda sighed "like I said before Jim, everyone who knows what happened after my parents were killed… looks at me differently. I don't know why but I don't want you to be the same, I feel like yours is pretty much the only opinion that I care about right now" she looked down and let the tears roll down her cheeks and land on her chest. Jim smiled shyly at her and moved so close that she could feel his fresh cool breath wash over her face, he traced the back of his hand along her collar bone wiping away the fallen tears then he slowly brought both hands up to cup her cheeks and used his thumbs to tenderly wipe the fresh tears which were threatening to spill over.

Melinda's nervous breaths were shallow, she leaned into his gentle touch and leaned forward to close the small distance between them, as soon as Melinda's lips touched his Jims he placed on hand softly in the curve of her neck and the other on the small of her back, the slow and gentle kiss lasted for quite a while before the need to breath broke them apart, Jim smiled when he saw the happily dazed expression on Melinda's face, "right now Melinda, I don't think there's anything in this world that could change the way I look at you" he said breathily, Melinda smiled and nodded. She slowly but surely ploughed her way through the hardest parts of her past, stopping to gage Jim's reaction every now and then before continuing. "How did you survive all of that Melinda? How did you get away from them?" Jim asked while rubbing her back soothingly, Melinda looked into his eyes as she spoke "a week after I was taken, the nicest guy Max, who had been trying to take care of me as best he could, came into the motel room and told me we were leaving, I had broken ribs, a concussion and a body covered in bruises, I had barely eaten anything and I was weak…I couldn't get up so he carried me to the van. The biggest one David got pissed because Max kept asking if I was okay along the journey and giving me water and stuff so he made James hold him back while one guy opened the back doors of the van and the last one threw me out of the back. They were driving at 70mph and I was already so badly hurt…" Melinda continued to talk as she remembered exactly what happened that night.

-**Melinda was crumpled in the corner of the motel room when the door burst out "We're leaving kid, you're going to be okay I swear…I'll find a way to get you out of here come on…I'll carry you, is that okay?" Max asked, Melinda gave him a weak half-smile and he scooped her up into his arms, she was only wearing a pair of underwear and shivered as the air rushed against her skin, Max frowned "you're cold" he said worriedly, he set her down on the bed, pulled his sweater off and put it on Melinda, she was so much smaller than him that it served as more of a dress than a top. He picked her back up and carried her to the van in the pitch black parking lot, he gently set her down in the van before climbing in and pulling her into his lap "you'll be okay kiddo" he whispered as the other four climbed in. David looked back from the driver's seat and frowned "what the hell are you doin' man? She can sit down by herself", Max glanced at Melinda and shook his head "no she can't asshole, she can't even speak anymore, she's all like…broken man, you beat her up real bad" he said angrily "fine, hold onto your little girlfriend then moron" David spat before pulling out onto the road. They raced along for about an hour before David looked in the rear-view mirror and noticed Max giving Melinda a drink of water "I've had enough! We're getting rid of that little bitch right now! James do what you have to do… Joe, T.D, I don't wanna see that kid again." He said coldly. James held a flailing Max back while Joe opened the door, T.D picked Melinda up and tried to maintain his balance as he made his way to the edge of the truck, he pulled Max's sweater over Melinda's head and threw it at him before dropping Melinda out of the back of the van with a laugh. –**

"I will **never** forget that laugh" Melinda said through gritted teeth "I hit the ground and rolled over and over until I was at the side of the road, I threw my hands out to try and break my fall but I ended up breaking both of my wrists, I landed on my back on a piece of glass but I was too weak to move, so I just lay there while it cut deeper and deeper and-" Melinda's voice was hysterical by now and Jim pulled her into a tight hug "sssssh, Melinda you don't have to do this" he said worriedly, Melinda clung onto him for dear life and continued in her small tear-filled voice "I screamed out for help for as long as I could but I was so tired…I don't know how long I was there but a car pulled up and a man ran over to me…I couldn't hear what he was saying, it was like he was really far away, he covered me with his jacket and held me until the ambulance came. I woke up two weeks later in hospital but I kept slipping in and out of consciousness and I kept on crashing because my heart was so weak. I was in intensive care for a month and recovery for three weeks. I had to go through painful physiotherapy everyday to regain the use of my legs, I had been still for so long I couldn't walk properly and I had been starved so bad that my muscles started weakening, I had to learn to write properly again because my wrist was so messed up and I wouldn't speak to anyone because I was so scared that it would all happen again. I was sent to a children's home and got pretty close to my social worker, Lisa, she's the one who brought me here…and then I met you…and now I have hope…that maybe one day someone could love me and want me and care for me the way it's supposed to be…that maybe one day I can just be normal, just be…me" she said quietly.

She pulled her vest off over her head and turned her back to Jim "look" she whispered, there was a thin and neat pearl white scar that went from her right shoulder blade down to the middle of her back. "Is this from the glass?" Jim asked, Melinda nodded and shivered when Jim ran his fingertips along the line, he slowly leaned forward and pressed gentle kisses down it softly before pulling Melinda back so that she was leaning back on his chest and his head was resting on her shoulder. "It's like a permanent reminder of what happened…no matter how far or fast I run it will always be with me, every time I look at it I hear that laugh" she said sadly, "no, Melinda you can't think of it that way…it's a permanent reminder of how strong you are…you're still alive" he said sincerely. Melinda sighed "your girlfriend's a freak" she whispered, "my girlfriend's a survivor" Jim replied which made Melinda smile.

"Melinda, I hate that those things happened to you, and I wish that there was something that I could do to take that pain away, but I'm glad you told me because I feel like I know you better now, I'm happy that you trust me" Jim said, Melinda smiled shyly and gently pulled on Jim's t-shirt pulling him closer and kissing him a lot more passionately than before, she tangled her fingers in his messy hair and smiled against his lips when his arms pressed her closer to his body, after a while Melinda pulled away and Jim thought that she was going to asked him to stop, she bit her lip which, although not her intention, Jim found very seductive. Melinda pushed his chest so that he fell back on his bed then reached over and switched the light off, she hovered above him using her elbows to support her weight. Melinda lowered her face to his and kissed him passionately smiling when she felt his arms wind tightly around her waist "you , are amazing" she said before kissing him again, they continued for a while and eventually settled into a sweet embrace- Melinda was laying on top of Jim with her head resting on his chest and Jim had his arms wrapped around her with the covers pulled up to Melinda's chin.

………..**Y'ALL KNOW THE DRILL, RIGHT?..................REVIEEEEEEEEEEEW XX LOLLY XX**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of it's characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended! **

**When I read a review it compels me to click on Microsoft word and write…so I wouldn't have gotten this far without you, it means a lot…….Thank you x x Lolly x x**

Melinda eyes were assaulted with bright sunlight as soon as she opened them, she blinked a couple of times and sat up, she was momentarily confused as to why she had no top on but soon remembered what had happened the night before. She smiled as she looked at the line of light between the curtains –_It's nice and light outside toda-It's LIGHT outside?! What's the time?-_she thought, looking at the clock on Jim's bedroom wall she smiled widely, it was 9:00am….no nightmares. She giggled when she looked at Jim, he was smiling in his sleep and hugging a pillow where she had been, Mel pattered to her rooms en suite bathroom, brushed her teeth and brushed her hair into a high ponytail with random curls falling loosely around her face, she smiled at her reflection-the dark shadows around her eyes were noticeably lighter and she had a genuine smile in place of her usual nervous pout. Melinda went back to Jim's bedroom, climbed back into the bed and gently tried to pull the pillow out of his arms, Jim stirred and muttered in his sleep "don't go Mel, I like holding you…and I like marshmallows, they're sweet and fluf-I'm falling in love with you…and the marshmallows" he said sleepily, Melinda giggled out loud and Jim opened his eyes, "morning" he said with a yawn, Melinda smiled "morning" she replied, Jim sat up and rubbed his eyes like a little kid then made his way to his bathroom where he washed his face and brushed his teeth.

He went back into the bedroom where Melinda was sitting on his bed, still without a top on, and pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head, when he pulled away Melinda pouted and he kissed her neck and threw her a questioning glance pretending not to know what she wanted, she kept her pout and shook her head. Playing along with the charade Jim looked confused "you're gonna have to tell me what you want Melinda because I don't have a-" Jim was cut off when Melinda clasped her hands behind his neck, pulled him down and kissed him passionately, Jim slowly ran one of his hands up her bare back until it was lost in her brunette curls, Melinda felt those now familiar butterflies in her stomach and moaned into the kiss which made Jim smile, "you're killing me" Jim said, Melinda looked down "did I do something wrong?" she asked "no, you're perfect…but I'm…a guy" he said with a pointed look. "Ooooh, sorry" she said apologetically, Jim smiled "small price to pay" he muttered before pulling Melinda into another kiss. After a while they broke apart and smiled at each other "I'd better go take a very cold shower" Jim said jokingly, "I'll go have one in my room" Melinda agreed. "It can wait like two or…twenty minutes" Jim said pulling Melinda down so that she was lying on top of him, she pulled the covers up so that they were both covered and then snuggled into Jim's chest.

There was a loud knock at the door and Olivia's panicked voice "Jim! Jim are you awake yet?" she called, Jim jumped out of bed and ran to open the door "what's wrong" he asked worriedly, "Melinda's gone again, I checked her room and she's gone but her car's still here, do you know where she is?" she asked frantically, Jim smiled "uh, yeah actually I do" he said stepping aside and motioning for Olivia to come in, she rounded the corner looking confused and jumped when Melinda called "morning!" from the bed. "Melinda? You're in here? Did you come in this morning or-" she asked confusedly, Melinda smiled and shook her head "I slept in here last night" she said, Olivia's eyes widened and she smiled "well knock me down with a feather and call me Mildred" she said disbelievingly. Jim chuckled "Melinda slept from 2:00am to 9:00am" Jim said proudly, "first time in months" Melinda said happily, Olivia smiled "that's wonderful Melinda, I'm glad you're feeling better sweetheart, evidently Jimmy here is great at playing doctor" she said with a suggestive smirk. Jim and Melinda both looked embarrassed and smiled shyly "well, I guess I'll leave you kids alone then, I'm going to have breakfast and then I'm heading over to Caroline's house for the day, Chris is at work, Alexis is at John's house and Holly and Mitch are making out in the kitchen, I almost had to gauge my eyes out" she joked before turning for the door with a wave and a goodbye.

"I wonder whose eyes she would have gauged if she saw what you're wearing" Jim joked, Melinda threw the covers off of herself, jumped up and stood with her hands on her hips and her chest stuck out "what, you don't like it?" she asked, "I love it" Jim said and ran over to her, he grabbed her by the waist and spun her around above his head until she squealed and giggled. He lowered her slightly and she wrapped her legs around his waist, Jim smiled and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips "so I was thinking…there's a bowling alley downtown and they have an arcade…then there's this special screening of Titanic at the old drive-in movie theatre, they're reopening and that was the first movie they ever showed so they're like reliving their first night…I thought maybe you'd wanna go…with me" he said nervously, Melinda smiled "I always loved Titanic…and I bet you I can kick your butt all the way down the bowling alley" she said with a smile "so…it's a date" Jim said happily. Melinda nodded "so how about a date before the date?…I wanna check out the forest, maybe we could have lunch out there somewhere, like a picnic I guess" she said hopefully, Jim smiled "Sounds great" he said, Melinda jumped down to the floor and stretched "is there a Walmart anywhere near here?" she asked, Jim nodded "about half an hour away, what do you need?" he asked curiously, Melinda picked up her purse and keys before turning back to Jim with a smile "you tell me" she said, "go get yourself washed up Jim, you're my map" she said with a cheeky smile

They headed their separate ways to shower and get dressed, Jim wore a light blue shirt open over a white tank top and dark blue jeans, Melinda wore a strapless short pink summer dress with strappy brown sandals a brown waist belt. They met in the hallway and complimented each other on their outfits before engaging in yet another make-out session.

Five minutes later they were heading down the stairs, Olivia was in the kitchen rinsing out her coffee cup, "well hello there" she said with a curious expression on her face what's going on?" she asked suspiciously, Jim and Melinda looked at each other and then at Olivia "uh, I'm taking Melinda to Walmart, we're gonna pick up a few thing and then go have a picnic in the forest, then we're headed into town to go bowling and tonight we're gonna go watch Titanic at the old drive-in" he said nervously, Olivia raised an eyebrow and studied the two of them "is this a date? I kinda figured when you said you stayed together last night but is this official…are you two dating?" she asked excitedly Jim looked at Melinda and smiled "if it's okay with Melinda then yeah…I'd say we're dating" he said happily, Melinda smiled and looked at Olivia "we're dating" she said decisively. "Melinda can I see you in my office for a few minutes before you go?" she asked happily, Melinda nodded and followed her, once the door was shut Olivia let out a small squeak of happiness "Melinda, I've never seen Jim like this…the way he looks at you, it's amazing to think that you're what he needed all along, I'm so happy! I honestly couldn't even picture Jim coming down to say hello when you first arrived but look how wrong I was, he must really like you" she said happily, "on a more serious note..I was kinda hoping to talk to you about what happened yesterday, do you think we could have a session before you go out tonight?" she asked, Melinda nodded "sure, that's fine…and just so you know… I really like him too" she said quietly before heading back to the kitchen "ready?" Jim asked, she smiled and nodded.

It took half an hour to get to Walmart, twenty minutes to pick out all of the things they would take on their picnic and half an hour to get back to the house, by the time they got back was 11:00pm.

"Which sandwich do you want Mel?" Jim asked kindly holding up a ham and cheese and a BLT, "umm" Melinda bit her lip and looked worried "whichever you don't want" she said indecisively, Jim sighed "you don't have to eat anything if you don't want to, I don't want to make you uncomfortable" Jim said, Melinda smiled "thanks, you're too good to me you know that right?" she said sweetly. "You deserve nothing less" he said as he finished up filling his backpack with stuff "You ready to go?" he asked, Melinda nodded, she had already changed into a Caribbean blue tank top with lace edging, a pair of black denim shorts and her new knee high Timberlands. Jim took Melinda's hand and led her out onto the front lawn, "are you sure I can't carry something Jim?" Melinda asked, Jim nodded and smiled "I'm sure."

"There's a nice spot we could head to for lunch…or would you rather just explore a little" Jim asked after a while of picking their way through the dense forest, Melinda thought about it for a second "lead the way Jimmy" she said with a smirk, he gave her a mock evil eye at the use of his nickname but then laughed when Melinda poked her tongue out at him. They didn't talk much as they hiked, Melinda needed to conserve all of her concentration and focus it on not falling on her butt in front of Jim. After fifteen minutes of walking they emerged into a large clearing, a beautifully serene babbling stream ran through a small field framed by large trees. "It's beautiful" Melinda breathed, the bright sun shone down on the water making it glisten like diamond covered silk and the light breeze had the trees whispering softly. Jim smiled "I thought you might like it" Jim said happily, he led her to the stream, pulled a very large blanket out of his backpack and spread it on the soft grass beside the water. Melinda sat down and smiled as she watched Jim carefully set out everything that he had in his bag, "will you eat this?" Jim asked holding up a BLT sandwich, Melinda nodded "I guess" she said quietly, Jim moved so that they were facing each other and sitting so close that their legs were either side of one another.

Jim split the sandwich in half and held it to her lips, Melinda eyed it nervously before taking a bite, she chewed it but didn't look happy about it "do you want to stop because there are plenty of other things here, but you don't have to eat anything if you don't-" Melinda pressed her finger to Jim's lips to silence him and smiled "I just don't like the lettuce" she said simply, Jim breathed a sigh of relief, separated the sandwich, pulled the lettuce out and began feeding her again. Melinda decided to return the favour and within minutes Melinda had eaten half of a sandwich and Jim had eaten all of his, Jim smiled "are you feeling okay still?" he asked, Melinda nodded "I feel good" she sang jokingly, Jim laughed and they had a drink before he pulled his shoes, socks, shirt and jeans off leaving him in a tank top and blue board shorts. "You're going_ in_?" Melinda asked looking towards the water, Jim shook his head "no, _we're_ going in, take your shoes and sock off and follow me" he said, Melinda did as she was told and walked on her tip toes to where Jim was at the edge.

"Watch your step, it's slippery at the bottom, follow me okay" Jim said, Melinda nodded "always" she said Jim led the way slowly through thee stream which came up to the middle of Melinda's thighs until they reached a large pool where the stream opened out into a lake, "you mind getting wet?" Jim asked, Melinda gave him a wicked grin "I will if you will" she said before shoving him forwards so that he fell straight into the pool. Jim bobbed back up and gave her a mock evil eye "that was cold Melinda, so cold" he said before tugging her arm so that she fell forwards into the freezing water.

Melinda screamed when she resurfaced and Jim swam away as fast as he could, "don't you dare try and get away from me James Clancy, I'm gonna make you pay!" she yelled before disappearing under the water, Jim looked around and began to worry when she didn't come back up, he spun around to find Melinda behind him with a smirk on her face, "now that was mean" he said pretending to be upset, Melinda pulled his vest and then swam to the edge with him following close behind, once she was at the edge and able to stand up in the water she turned to him and smiled "kiss me" she said quietly, Jim smiled and lifted Melinda so that she was sitting on the bank of the pool and her face was almost at the same level as his.

He slowly leaned in and hovered with his face only inches away from hers, Melinda pushed herself back so that she was completely on dry ground and as if pulled by some strange magnetism Jim followed without putting any distance between them. Melinda slowly leaned back onto her elbows and Jim lay on top of her supporting his weight on his forearms, he lowered his head slowly and pressed his lips to hers softly. Their lips began to move slowly together until Melinda tangled her fingers in Jim's messy hair and lay down completely, Jim ran his tongue across her lip hungrily and she readily granted him access. Jim pressed his lower body into Melinda's and she felt a tingling sensation begin to burn in her stomach, their lips broke apart and they both breathed heavily, Melinda arched her back against Jim and he smiled before kissing her passionately again. After a while Melinda leaned back and bit her lip, Jim smiled and pressed his thumb along her bottom lip "I like it when you do that" he said quietly, Melinda flicked her tongue out and ran it along Jim's thumb as it passed over her lips "and _I _like it when _you _do _that" _Melinda said breathily before sitting up with Jim and leaning against his chest.

"I can't tell you how good that feels Melinda, to have you in my arms, leaning on me, close to me…" he trailed off and kissed the top of her head before standing up and pulling her with him "you ready to head back?" he asked, Melinda nodded "yeah it's getting kinda cold" she replied and Jim fought the urge to tell her that he could see that by looking at her shirt. They half swam/half waded through the stream until they reached the spot where their blanket and food were. Melinda climbed out and shivered, Jim pulled two large towels out of his bag and handed one to Mel which she wrapped around herself.

"How did you find this place?" Melinda asked curiously after she had dried off and was laying on the blanket next to Jim, Jim sighed "I was just wondering when you would ask" he said jokingly, he turned on his side so that he was facing Melinda before continuing "when I first came here I didn't exactly settle in well, I wouldn't speak to anyone, I wouldn't come out of my room and I couldn't sleep for more than a few hours before I was woken up by the horrific nightmares which haunted me every night. I started running away, I would just walk out of the house and drive around at first but then Livvy and Chris took my car keys away. At night I would lock my bedroom door and climb out onto the balcony…I used the same tree you did to get down, I would just wander around the forest for hours always in the same direction to just clear my head. After a while Mitch and I became friends, one day we were messing around in the yard with an old oil drum full of our junk and Mitch set it alight, it was a really small fire so Mitch threw a bottle of Vodka onto it. The whole thing went up in flames…I kept seeing my parents in the flames, hearing my mom scream and my dad yell, I could see them dying just like they did in the fire at home. I completely flipped out and ran into the forest but I went in the opposite direction than I usually did, I didn't stop until I reached here, it was so beautiful…I found peace here. From then on, every time I feel sad or scared or even if I've just had a really bad day, I come here to relax…this place brought me peace, I hope it can do the same for you" he finished quietly. Melinda smiled "I think it already has Jim, thank you" she said honestly before rolling over so that she was laying half on top of him with her head resting on his shoulder.

They lay in a comfortable silence until the sky suddenly became dark, Melinda sighed "it looks like it's gonna rain" she said, Jim nodded, sat up and quickly packed everything back into his bag before pulling his clothes back on while Melinda did the same. "Ready?" Jim asked, Melinda nodded "let's run" Jim said as the rain began to shower down, they made it back to the house in 10 minutes and ran straight up to their rooms, they both got dressed in clean clothes and Melinda went and knocked on Jim's door.


	9. PLEASE READ

THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO ME THAT YOU READ IT…

To the person who has been leaving unpleasant comments on my review page…

If you don't like my story then stop reading dumbass!

Not writing about ghosts in no way makes me a slut, rather strange thing to say actually.

You might want to try this new invention…it's called spell check, moron

You've obviously changed your pen-name and just reviewed over and over but kept it anonymous so that I couldn't reply…not so brave

How sad is your life that you have the time to write out these awful reviews?

For those of you lovely readers who have no clue what I am talking about…this ass holes spelling isn't great so you'll have to decode some of this crap but you'll get the message, so…here's a catch-up…

From: kim ()

stuoid name go die  
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From: gerg ()

go die today because its stinks there no ghosts and melinda a slut

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From: i know you are a slut ()

never wrote about any ghosts you are a slut

From: !!!! ()

slut slut slut slut slut ! bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard!ass ass  
ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass!you all of those!  
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From: slut you are ()

you are a dumb ass cheerleader wanttobe punk!

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From: nick ()

boo make a stinking freaking ghost come in this story and kill jim he bastard  
like you!  
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**Anyone else think this is just incredibly sad? I'm willing to accept and appreciate any constructive criticism you have to offer, but crude and offensive comments will be removed from the review page. I allow anonymous reviews trusting that people will respect me and my story, but perhaps I should reconsider. It saddens me that someone could put such a negative taint on something I love so much. **

**I will be updating very soon x x Lolly x x**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended! **

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews and kind words, you guys are awesome x**

**Special thanks to all of you who sent me support messages about the flamer! OMG some of your comments were really funny and lifted my spirits straight up! After reading them I went straight back to writing my story LOL I will not be deterred!!! It means so much to me to know that people really do care, so much so that you might call the flamer an '****uneducated brat'**** '****pitiful'****'stupid!' and many other hilarious phrases! ****HAHA that really cracked me up! Thanks Again……xx Lolly xx**

"Can I help you miss?" Jim asked professionally when he opened the door to Melinda, she smiled "yes sir, I think I lost my lip gloss and I was wondering if you could help me find it" Melinda replied innocently, "where was the last place you saw this lip gloss?" Jim asked seriously. Melinda smiled and pointed to her lips, "best start there then I guess" Jim said with a smile, he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her happily, Melinda reached up and ran her hands through his hair.

"I think I need to grow a few inches if we're gonna be doing this all the time" Melinda said with a giggle, Jim smiled "jump" he said, Melinda did as she was told and Jim pulled her up so that she was at the same height as him, Melinda squealed and kicked her legs "how can you hold me up for so long? You been eating your spinach pop-eye?" she joked, Jim raised her even higher so that she was above his head and smiled "I hate spinach, you just don't weigh anything" he replied, Melinda squealed when Jim spun her around and then pulled her down into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Melinda was now wearing black ripped jeans, a light blue tank top and an open dark blue and black plaid shirt, Jim was wearing faded black jeans with a dark purple button down shirt. "What's the time?" Melinda asked, Jim spun around so that he could see the clock on his bedroom wall "twelve thirty" he replied, Melinda smiled "it's still early" she said, leaning in close she kissed the crook of Jim's neck softly, Jim held her close and she tucked her head into his neck.

"Can I try something on you?" Melinda asked quietly, Jim nodded "what is it?" he asked apprehensively, Melinda pulled back and pouted "don't say it like that, I want to do something nice for you so go wait on the bed" she said jumping down and going into Jim's bathroom, she took the gift that she had bought him from beside the sink and went back into the bedroom. Jim was sitting on his bed looking rather confused, "you gonna perfume me to death?" he joked, "no, I'm going to give you a massage, take your shirt off" she said, Jim raised his eyebrows but stood up and did as he was told, Melinda felt a tingling sensation in her stomach when she looked at Jim's perfectly ripped abs, she bit her lip and Jim chuckled and threw his shirt at her head "snap out of it perv" he joked. Melinda jumped, blushed crimson and smiled shyly "sorry" she mumbled, she closed the curtains which plunged the room into complete darkness and then turned the overhead downlights on low so the room had a warm glow.

Melinda walked up to Jim and smiled, they stared at each other for a few seconds before Melinda reached out with one hand and rested it on his chest feeling the tingling in her stomach as their skin touched, Jim covered her hand with one of his and pulled her closer with the other, he slowly kissed her neck and Melinda let out a shaky breath and laced her fingers through Jim's hair gently holding him there. After a while Jim pulled away and smiled "do you feel that Melinda? right there" he asked pointing to his own stomach, Melinda nodded "I've felt that every time I've been near you since the first time I saw you…even if I just think about you…" she said biting her lip, Jim smiled "good to know" he whispered. Jim lay down on the bed face down and Melinda climbed up after him, fighting the sudden urge to lay down with him Melinda pulled out a bottle of beautifully scented massage oil from the Victoria's Secret set and squeezed some in her hand, she rubbed it for a few seconds and then let it drip down Jim's spine, Melinda sat on the back of Jim's legs and trailed her fingers up his back softly, keeping her hands moving in perfect symmetrical synchronisation.

Twenty minutes later and she had worked until Jim was completely relaxed and all of the massage oil that she dripped on him had disappeared. "I'm done" Melinda said kneeling up on the bed, Jim kneeled up and stretched "you've got skills Melinda I'll give you that! That was the best massage ever-well, granted it was the only massage ever-but still the best! Where did you learn to do that?" he asked, Melinda smiled, "physiotherapy rich kid style…I had a massage twice a week, I picked up a few things" she said, "well thank you" Jim said happily, he wrapped his muscular arms around Melinda and kissed her softly. Just then his bedroom door burst open "Jim check this out! I-Whoaaaa! Dude you're doin' it! I'm sorry! Melinda, I'm sorry darlin'" Mitch yelled in his southern twang, as he walked in he had seen a topless Jim's back and Melinda's arms around it, he covered his eyes and walked out of the room saying "Sock on the doorknob man, Sock on the doorknob!" Jim chuckled "Mitch, come back man you got the wrong idea!" Jim yelled, Mitch opened the door slowly looking confused "I'm not into watching Jim" he joked, Jim moved aside and revealed a fully clothed Melinda "well that's one way to do it" Mitch quipped, "what were you gonna show me?" Jim asked, Mitch began unbuttoning his shirt and Jim gave him a funny look "isn't kind of obvious yet man?... I like girls" Jim said the last part in a whisper as if he were letting him in on a big secret.

Mitch chuckled and turned to show them his back, there was a large tattoo of a heart with wings which spanned from shoulder to shoulder, the heart was cupped by two hands and it beneath it in an elegant script read 'In The Hands Of God' "That's awesome man, did it hurt?" Jim asked sounding very much like and enthusiastic little kid, "yeah man it hurt like hell but it was totally worth it!" "Can I touch it?" Melinda asked, Mitch chuckled "sure darlin'" he said, Melinda climbed off the bed and traced her hand along the design "it's awesome" she whispered, Mitch and Jim gave a man shake and Melinda smiled up at them "you shrinkin' shorty?" Mitch asked, Melinda gave a fake scowl, pouted and mumbled under her breath "stupid giants", Jim and Mitch laughed and Jim picked Melinda up with one arm. "How tall are you anyway?" Mitch asked curiously, Melinda giggled "I'm six foot right now…but the rest of the time I'm 5ft2" she said, Mitch let out a howl of laughter "dude you're like mini-me…or mini-Mel! That's the best name ever!" he said excitedly, Melinda groaned "not again" she whined, "touchy subject man" Jim informed a confused looking Mitch. "I'm gonna go get showered and dressed then go show the football guys, I'll see y'all later!" he yelled as he jogged out of the room.

Jim pulled Melinda back to his bed and lay down with her, she let out a soft yawn which didn't go unnoticed by Jim, "it's 1:00, you wanna take a nap before we go out?" he asked, Melinda nodded "I have months of sleeping to catch up on" she joked, she pulled her over shirt off and considered changing into shorts "I'm gonna go get some shorts" she decided aloud, Jim threw something at her head and chuckled, she pulled it off and found it was a pair of board shorts "thanks" she said with a smile which Jim returned "they might be a little big but whatever, do you mind if I stay like this?" Jim said pointing to his toplessness. Melinda shook her head with a smile so he turned around and changed into shorts while Melinda did the same, she neatly folded her jeans and shirt and put them on Jim's desk before climbing into his bed, Jim smiled and climbed in next to her pulling her into his arms so that her head was resting on his bare chest. Melinda ran her hand softly up and down his stomach and Jim traced soothing circles on her back until they both drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Two hours later Olivia walked into the front door to find Holly and Mitch in the kitchen "Hey Livvy, I was just writing you a note, I got my tattoo done!" Mitch yelled excitedly unbuttoning his shirt, "I wish you would have let me go with you Mitch I wanted to see!" she whined, "Sorry Liv, next time right, but check it out" he said turning to show her, her face turned from curious to furious in a matter of seconds "Mitchell Frances Gallaway, That is NOT the size we agreed on!" she said angrily, Mitch gave her a sheepish smile "but it's awesome though right?" he asked, Olivia let out a frustrated huff, "no Mitch, it's not, now wherever you are planning to go right now you can think again! I want you in your room until dinner, you are grounded young man, and Holly don't even think about going with him…I can't believe you would do this Mitch, I trusted you. I agreed to let you get a tattoo on the condition that you kept it a reasonable size" she said disappointedly "now go to your room" she said, Mitch jumped down from the kitchen table and headed to his room with his head held down, Olivia sighed "sorry Holly but I can't let him get away with that, it's ridiculous!"

Holly giggled "it's cool, can I go over to Annie's house?" she asked, Olivia smiled "of course you can sweetheart, if you're coming home for dinner be back by six, if not then curfew sticks at 11:00 okay, call me when you get there okay sweetheart" she said, Holly promised and then headed out leaving Olivia in the kitchen. She headed up the stairs to get Melinda for their session and frowned when she heard nothing but silence from the third floor, she knocked on Melinda's door and pushed it open when she got no response. "Okay then" she said confusedly, she knocked on Jim's door softly before pushing it open, she smiled as she took in the sight in front of her, Jim and Melinda were both fast asleep and Jim had his arms wrapped around Melinda whose head was resting on Jim's chest, Olivia tip-toed into the room and nudged Jim lightly.

Jim stirred and opened his eyes, Olivia place a finger over her lips to tell Jim to be quiet and then pointed to the door "I need to speak to you" she whispered, Jim slipped his arms from around Melinda and followed Olivia down to her office "is everything okay?" he asked worriedly, "have a seat" she said, Jim sat down opposite her and waited for her to speak "Jim, I was hoping that we could wait until Christopher was home so that he could do this but I don't think there's enough time…uh please don't feel awkward okay you just have to answer yes or no. Is that okay?" she asked, Jim's brow furrowed and he nodded "yes" he said, "have you and Melinda…slept together" she asked, Jim's eyes widened "no" he said cautiously, Olivia let out a sigh of relief, "good, that's a good answer, Jim you understand that Melinda is under the legal age of consent right?" she asked "yeah, I guess…I never really thought about it I mean we only just started dating…" he replied.

Olivia nodded "Jim I just need you to understand, If Holly and Mitch have sex it's a minor crime, a slap on the wrist at most because they're both under 17, If you and Melinda have sex…it's a federal crime, statutory rape on your part because although there's only a year between you, Melinda is a minor. Now I'm not going to lecture you about safe sex or legality but I do have to warn you Jim, you can be tried as an adult and with Melinda's past it would be a harsh punishment okay…now I'm not stupid, I know that you guys are all doing things, but I need you to promise me that you'll try to wait okay, Melinda turns 17 at the end of the month…now I am not encouraging it okay but I am just saying that if it is going to happen you'd be better off waiting until she's legal, do you understand?" she finished seriously, Jim nodded "I get it" he reassured her, "just so you know…we really haven't done anything I swear" he said, Olivia smiled "good to know, now on a lighter note…I see your bed has been invaded by a certain beautiful young lady" she said suggestively, Jim smiled "actually, that beautiful young lady was invited!" he quipped, "what time are you guys heading out?" she asked, Jim checked the clock and saw that it was now 3:00, "whoa, we slept for two hours! Uh, the movie isn't until 6:30 and we're going bowling before that so I guess we'll leave at like five…is it okay if we miss curfew by like 10 minutes?" he asked, Olivia gave a sideways lip purse and narrowed her eyes "you guys think I'm a soft touch huh?" she asked before laughing at Jim's surprised expression "it's fine Jim, but you know the drill…if you're not here at 11 then I want you to text me and let me know where you are okay, sound fair?" she asked, "more than" Jim replied with a smile. "Jim, when you and Melinda went out yesterday did she eat anything?" she asked worriedly, Jim nodded "yeah I took her to Carluccio's" he said, Olivia chewed on her pen deep in thought, "she ate more than half of her dinner last night but of course she was sick after…do you know if she's eaten anything today?" "she only had half a sandwich...why are you asking? Did something happen?" Jim asked.

"No sweetheart, just try and get her to eat something while you're out…she'll start to get weaker if she doesn't improve soon" Olivia said, Jim nodded "I'm gonna go wake her up okay?" Jim said, Olivia nodded "have Melinda come down when she'd ready okay" she replied, Jim agreed and headed back up to his room, Melinda had kicked the covers off and had them tangled at her feet, he hair was fanned out over Jim's pillow and framed her peaceful face, Jim leaned down and softly kissed the top of her head and she stirred and giggled, he chuckled "are you awake?" he asked, Melinda squeezed her eyes shut tight and shook her head, Jim smiled "well that's a shame because if you _were_ awake I would probably want to kiss you right now…but since you're sleeping I guess I'll just have to head downst-" Jim was cut off by Melinda's lips crashing down on his, she pushed him back so that he was laying down and kissed him passionately "well then I guess it's a good thing I'm awake" she said , Jim wrapped his arms around her and enveloped her in a hug "we slept for over two hours, it's quarter past three" Jim said, "really?" Melinda was surprised, she smiled and jumped up off the bed with a giggle. As she hit the floor a strong wave of pins and needles flew up her body from toes to head and her vision blurred, she staggered unstably and in a split second Jim's arms were supporting her, "are you okay?" Jim asked, Melinda nodded as she tried to clear her head "head rush I guess…I need to sit down" she said shakily, Jim lowered her to the bed and sat beside her, she rested her head between her knees and breathed evenly. "I'm okay" she said sitting up after a while, "you sure? Do want a drink or something?" Jim asked worriedly "nah, I'm good thanks I just stood up too fast" she said, "relax Jim, I'm okay I promise" she reassured him when she saw his concerned expression, Jim didn't look convince but kept quiet nonetheless. Melinda stood up more slowly and Jim followed with his hand on her back supportively, she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a soft hug, "thank you" she whispered into his chest, Jim gave her a squeeze which made her giggle and when she let him go he leaned down and planted the softest of kisses on her lips, one that made her heart leap and her mind turn to mush, she smiled "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

**I really do apologise for my absence from fanfiction, my near enough new laptops' hard drive got fried =( I have lost most of my exam work and term papers because I was too stupid to put them on a USB, I also lost all of my fanfiction work including Shattered (thank god it was finished), Handle With Care, and the beginnings of a few others. I'm really sorry but it's going to take a while for me to get back to quick updates as I'm no longer just finishing stuff off- I'm starting from scratch. I did try posting this message before from a university library that's always open but FF was on the blocked sites. I will work as hard as I can so that I can keep up. Please be patient, I'm really sorry and I'm totally bummed out but as soon as I got my new laptop I started writing again, (and yes, everything I've done so far is on a USB!) Lol x Warning...Some bad language and angsty stuff in this chapter! Please read and Review xx Lolly xx **

Melinda stayed locked in Jim's arms for a few more minutes before heading downstairs to find Olivia, as she walked down the stairs she sighed- when she was admitted to the hospital after the attack she had been prescribed various drugs for her malnutrition and all of the problems that came with it. Melinda had put up so much resistance to the drugs that the workers at the children's home had made her swallow them while they watched, the few times that she was left alone she would flush the pills down the toilet and lie to cover up. Melinda knew that not taking the drugs would slow down her recovery but she had her reasons. These drugs had been put on repeat prescription and Melinda was made to collect them from the hospital every two weeks, but in the week before she left and her time with Olivia and Chris so far, Melinda had not taken any of her meds. She knew that it would make her ill and she knew that it should scare her but the masochist in her actually rejoiced at the fact that she may find her escape, when she was being held by her attackers they forced various pills down her throat to keep her from fighting back, they gave her a small dose of sleeping pills every few hours so that she would stay awake through the torture but would be too weak to fight back.

Melinda found Olivia typing away on her laptop at the kitchen table "hey" she said quietly, Olivia's head snapped up and she smiled "hello sweetheart, how are you?" she asked, Melinda smiled "I'm good thanks, I've never had such a long nap", "yes it seems our Jim makes a very comfortable pillow" she said with a knowing smile which made Melinda blush. "Um, before we start could I uh...get something...to eat?" Melinda mumbled. Olivia's face lit up and she jumped out of her seat and rushed to the fridge "of course! You're hungry! Do you want some toast? Or how about some pancakes? We have lots of syrup and it would only take a few minutes, I could make you a sandwich or you could get something from the fridge-"she stopped her excited rambling when Melinda held a hand up. "Could we maybe make some pancakes...like, together?" Melinda asked, Olivia smiled "I'd like that" she said.

That was how Melinda's session went that day, Olivia asked questions and Melinda answered while they made enough pancakes to feed an army, experimenting with food colouring along the way. Olivia was still slightly apprehensive about pursuing serious issues with Melinda but decided that it was the right time. Melinda smiled back at Olivia as she headed up the stairs to Jim's room, knocking on the door she held a plate of multicoloured pancakes with syrup dripping down the sides. Jim opened the door and smiled "for me?" Melinda nodded "for you" she said quietly.

Fifteen Minutes later the two of them were pulling their shoes on and heading downstairs both still laughing at Jim's now blue tongue. "I think it suits you" Melinda said before bursting into a fit of giggles. "You're leaving?" Olivia asked as they neared the bottom, "Yep, Do you want anything brought in?" Jim asked and Olivia shook her head. "Like I said, if you're not here by 11 then I expect a message letting me know where you are okay, now go have fun" she said shooing them out the front door. Jim pressed a button on his keys and the doors to his Jag rose smoothly, they settled into their seats and in less than half an hour they were parked in Grandview town centre, as they walked to the bowling alley Jim took Melinda's hand in his and held it all the way. They left at quarter passed six and picked up some soup at a small restaurant before driving to the outside theatre and settling down under a blanket to watch the movie.

As the title rolled Jim plucked up the courage to ask Melinda to sit with him, she happily complied and snuggled down into his strong arms, she rested her head on his chest and he rested his head on hers. Every now and then throughout the movie Jim would look at their reflection in the mirror and watch with intrigue as Melinda's expressions changed. He smiled when she did, brushed his lips against the back of her neck when she sighed wistfully and his brow furrowed when she cried at the end. "I love that movie so much Jim, thank you" she said with a small sniffle as the end credits rolled "it made you cry" Jim said somewhat confusedly, Melinda turned in his arms and kissed the crook of his neck "I still love it" she whispered, "I'm glad" Jim said with a smile. They drove back in a comfortable silenced and pulled into the garage at 10:58, "cutting it pretty close Clancy" Melinda said with a nod towards the dashboard clock, Jim gave her a lopsided grin and leaned over to kiss her passionately "I like to live on the edge" he said huskily. They climbed out of the car and Jim chased Melinda up the driveway, they made it through the door just before the hour hit and were greeted by a very worried looking Christopher, "Right on time kids! Go get ready for bed and then Melinda could you please come back down so we can discuss a few things, I'll see you in a few" he said. Melinda shot Jim a worried look and he took her hand and led her up the stairs, Melinda's mind had entered panic-mode –_what if they don't want me anymore? What if they're going to tell me to leave? -_ She thought frantically.

Jim followed her into her room and sat her down on the bed "Melinda, calm down, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about okay, just relax" he said soothingly, she nodded distantly and bit her lip, silently she went through her usual shower and dress routine-washing her hair and not bothering to dry it, she changed into a tight fitting black tank top and matching long yoga pants. When she emerged from her bathroom Jim was sitting on her bed in gray boxer shorts and a black t-shirt. "I'm gonna go see what Christopher wants, would you like to sleep in here tonight? I..I-I mean, you don't have to...it's just that I kinda like sleeping with you-I mean, not _sleeping_ with you...you know-" Melinda rambled nervously, Jim chuckled "I'll be here when you get back" he said with a smile, Melinda smiled back at him and headed downstairs.

"Hey honey! How was it?" Olivia asked as soon as she reached the lounge doorway, "amazing, Jim's so sweet...he's smart and funny and...Oh, he kept like-actually weird conversation to have with you, sorry I didn't think" Melinda said embarrassedly, "I don't mind at all honestly, I'm glad to hear that the two of you are happy. Now there are just a few things we need to organize and then you can go get some sleep okay" she said, Melinda nodded nervously and bit her lip when Christopher walked in carrying a folder full of papers and something in a grocery bag. "Don't look so worried sweetheart" Chris said with a comforting smile, he sat next to Melinda on the couch leaving enough space that she wouldn't feel threatened but still keeping her closely between himself and Olivia. "So, school starts next week, as you know Jim and Holly are homeschooled and Mitch and Alexis are starting at Rockland, it's absolutely up to you, whichever you prefer it's fine with us. May I suggest something?" Chris asked politely, Melinda nodded "You could always try school for a little while and if you don't like it then you have the choice of home tutoring, that way at least you'll know that you tried" he said. "Okay" Melinda said in a small voice, Christopher always made her slightly nervous although through no fault of his own, "we have some things for you to sign" he handed her a few forms and she skimmed over them before signing her name, the school was called 'Austin James High School', it was a very prestigious private school and Melinda could only imagine how much money it had taken to get her in mid-semester. "Thank you" Melinda said gratefully, Christopher smiled, "you'll have an interview the Wednesday after next and then you can enrol the Monday after that. Now the next thing, just stop me if there's anything that you don't understand" he said flipping through the papers in his folder. He pulled out another form and read from it

-"Social Worker Lisa James acted as representative on behalf of 16 year old Melinda Gordon, party of the second part, and met with Christopher Jenner (paternal guardian) and his wife Olivia Jenner (maternal guardian) at their home in Grandview, NY. Guardianship and residency arrangements were made subsequent to this meeting, upon spending her first (working) week with the Jenner family, must sign attached form 2159 (an agreement to accept the terms of permanent guardianship). Should the concerned party refuse to sign said form due to disagreement of these terms she will be removed from the care of the Jenners', pronounced a 'ward of the state (California)' and placed back in the care of Olive Crest Home & Services for abused and orphaned children until the age of 18years when she will be legally emancipated. Should sign form 2159 she will legally obtain Mr and Mrs Jenner as permanent guardians until the age of 18 years when she will have the option to be emancipated from them. The attached form is to be sent back to the original mailing address..." Christopher trailed off as the rest was just an address and a disclaimer. "Do you understand what this means?" he asked, Melinda nodded, "If sign this I stay here with you guys as my parents and if I don't then I end up back in Olive Crest, look...I want to stay here I really do..." Melinda looked down and wrung her hands "But, are you sure that's what you guys want?" she asked, Olivia smiled and reached over to still Melinda's hands with one of her own, with the other she reached out for the papers and placed them on Melinda's lap, "we want you Melinda, we want you to be ours" she said sincerely, Melinda's eyes followed the finger that Olivia was pointing at the paper, her heart swelled and her eyes prickled with tears of joy as she saw that Olivia and Christopher had already signed their names in acceptance of all terms and conditions...they really did want her.

**I'll update again as soon as I can xx Promise...scouts honor! xx Luv you guys...please review!!! Xx Lolly xX**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

This chapter contains some angst, pain, sadness and descriptions of violent abuse...you're warned LOL, it's a lil short but it means I can update quicker...read n Review xx Lolly xx

Melinda's eyes filled up with tears and she took the pen in her shaking hand and signed her name, she spoke with a shaky voice "I just want to say thank you, for everything...when my parents were killed I didn't even have time to grieve, I was taken before I even got a chance to say goodbye" Melinda choked on her words and Christopher's arm was around her in a heartbeat, much to her surprise the gesture brought her nothing but comfort and she leaned into him, hot tears streamed down her face and she took a deep breath before continuing "I thought I was going to die, I really thought that it was over for me...I would never have a first real boyfriend, I wouldn't get to go to college and I would never get married or have children, I would never hear my dad whining at me for wearing a skirt he thought was too short, and I would never argue with my mom about what to watch for movie night. A few months ago I thought that my life was over, my mom and dad were dead and I was about to be. I pretty much gave up...on everything, I didn't-I _don't_ want to get any better, it's the only way I can make it right" she said sadly. Olivia shook her head and tears flowed quickly down her face and dripped onto her lap "you _have_ to Melinda, it wasn't your fault! You can't keep punishing yourself for being alive, you need to heal, you need to live" she said with passion.

Melinda stood up and shook her head "No, I need you to...to understand, just wait here" she said before running from the lounge and up the two flights of stairs to her bedroom, she burst through the door and ran straight into her closet completely forgetting that Jim was in her bed. She threw herself to her knees and rummaged through the boxes along the bottom of one wall which she had yet to unpack, as she struggled to see through her tear filled eyes she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and pull her up from the floor, Jim kissed the back of her neck and expected the usual giggle but what he got was rather different. Melinda struggled against his grip until he set her down, Jim worriedly spun her around and gasped when he saw the floods of tears running down her cheeks "what happened? What did they do?" he asked angrily, Melinda dropped back to the floor and crawled over to the last box muttering "I have to find it, I have to...I have to find it", Jim frowned but decided against trying to stop her again "what are you looking for?" he asked, Melinda shook her head "it was here, I know it was...it's a file, a blue file full of papers" she said, just as the words were out of her mouth she spotted it underneath copies of all her old high school text books. "They need to see this, I didn't want them to before but now I think I do, that's okay right?" she asked distantly, Jim chuckled "am I supposed to know what you're talking about?" he asked, Melinda shot him a frown before heading back downstairs "wait there, I'll explain later" she yelled back to him when she saw that he had begun to follow. Olivia and Christopher were whispering hurriedly in hushed tones in the lounge and Melinda decided to eavesdrop despite the fact that she knew it was incredibly rude.  
"Chris please, you must be gentle about it okay? I don't want her to feel cornered", Olivia said, Melinda heard Chris let out a huff of frustration "I really don't know how else to do this, she's going to hate me, she's going to leave...she'll...she'll pick a lock or...or jump off the roof again or climb out of a God-damned window and maybe this time she won't come back! What the hell are we meant to do then huh?" he whispered worriedly, Melinda's eyes widened and her heart began to race –_what are they going to do? What could he possibly do to make me hate him?- _Melinda thought.

The voices got further away and Melinda figured that they were now sitting on the far couch which meant that they would have their backs to the doorway, Melinda couldn't hear clearly so she stood in the doorway and watched, Olivia and Chris had their backs to her and Olivia had her head rested on Chris' shoulder. Melinda felt a strong pang of fear hit her when Christopher spoke_ "_I've locked the front door and the big windows and I'll shut the door behind her once she gets in but we'll have to be subtle about it because otherwise she'll run, explained what each one is for and how and when to use them, she's coming over tomorrow to explain thing to Melinda, God...she's not going to like it at all" he said sadly, Melinda began to feel numb -_locked doors, locked windows...locked in-. _Melinda's blood ran cold as she realised that the huge bag on the table wasn't full of groceries, on the front was a large green cross with the word 'Pharmacy' written beneath it, -_They're going to force me to take pills-_Melinda thought with horrified realisation her arms became lead weights and she dropped the file full of papers on the floor, Melinda's mind warped the room into that of a seedy motel and Chris' voice faded into another's...Max's.

Olivia and Christopher turned around in shock and confusion when Melinda began speaking distantly with a dazed look in her eyes, "Melinda can you hear me?" Olivia asked but Melinda's mind was too far in the past to notice, she spoke so quietly that they struggled to hear but once they turned the television off it became easier although her voice was still very soft–

"we had only been at the motel for a few hours and after attacking me, David and the others had left the motel, I was crying in the arms of Max-the only one who had shown any shred of humanity- "please help me, please...I don't understand what happened, I don't understand...are my mom and dad dead?" I whimpered, Max sighed shakily and I felt a tear fall onto my neck and when I looked up I was shocked to see that Max was crying, he looked almost as young as I was...and just as vulnerable, he had sandy blonde hair and teary powder blue eyes "I'm so sorry ...David said that no one was home...and then...after he got scared...he fired the gun, they didn't stand a chance" he said softly, I felt this wave of such grief that it was physically painful to think about, "I...I have nobody, I'm gonna die and nobody will even know" I sobbed, "No! No I won't let that happen, no matter what...I swear to you...you will not die here" he said, I just carried on crying into his shoulder and he held me gently to avoid the bruises, "what's your name?" he asked quietly, I told him and he said "that's pretty", "do you have any brothers or sisters?", I shook my head "all I ever had were my parents", "how old are you?" I asked Max, he sighed "I'm nineteen...I guess you're wondering how I ended up with these guys; I had a huge problem and David fixed it...I owe him my life" he said, "how old are-" he was cut off by the sound of a key turning in the door, "pretend to sleep" he whispered to me quickly, I let my head fall limp against him and closed my eyes. I prayed to God that it was the police, but I knew it was them...they were coming to hurt me...again-"

Christopher carried Melinda to the couch and laid her down, her eyes stayed open but it was as though she was staring through the ceiling rather than at it, he and Olivia listened silently kneeling beside her as she spoke

"-Four men including David filed in laughing and joking, "hey man, is she alright?" one of them asked, Max shook his head "she's hurt" he replied, David laughed cruelly "who gives a shit? The kid was a good lay!" he said earning a round of booming laughter from the other guys except for Max who just tightened his hold on me ever so slightly, as if I could really get any comfort from that!. "Wake your little girlfriend up man, I got a gift for her" David said waving a bag in the air, "what is it?" Max asked, it was one of the other men who spoke this time "sleeping pills and some other shit to keep her quiet" he said, I peeked slightly but panicked and shut my eyes again when I saw what David had...he pulled out a bottle of pills from a pharmacy bag as well as about ten needles full of murky liquid, Max recognised it immediately as they all used on the regular "heroin?! You're gonna give her heroin!? She's just a little girl!" he said indignantly so loud that I couldn't pretend to be asleep anymore, I stirred and then opened my eyes with tears rolling down my cheeks, "yeah man we met some guys in the parking lot, think she's ever used before?" one of the taller men asked, "no she's just a kid, you really think she's gonna sit back and let you stick her with a needle and then swallow pills for you? The girl is scared to death that you're gonna kill her!" he yelled which only made me cry harder.

"I don't give a damn you asshole!" David yelled at Max "hold the bitch down and force them down her god-damned throat if you have to, I can't have her screaming again cause' people are gonna start asking questions!" he hissed through gritted teeth, Max cradled a me to his muscular chest, "she was only screaming because you were hurting her you prick! Can't you see?...she's just a kid! She can't be more than like fourteen!" he said judging wrongly by my small size I guessed, David's face contorted with rage and he tore me from Max's arms before landing a crushing blow to his jaw, Max flew back and lay on the bed struggling to remain conscious, Max held a fistful of my hair and waved the pharmacy bag in front of my face, I blocked out the sound and squeezed my eyes shut but even than I could see the green cross swinging before me like a pocket watch in hypnosis, the word pharmacy reverberated in my brain as I was pulled into the arms of another man, he held me tightly with my back against his chest and pulled me to the floor. Wrapping his legs around my waist he pinned my arms and legs down and then braced my head with his hands. My efforts to struggle were futile, David shoved a few pills into my mouth and then squirted what looked to be water into my mouth, I gagged as I recognised the taste of neat Vodka-me and my best friend had tried it on a dare once-David gave me a back handed hit across the face "just swallow it!" he yelled and I didn't think twice about doing as I was told, I swallowed it and tried my hardest not to be sick when I tasted blood in my mouth. One of the other guys held a needle in front of me and tapped it before squirting a little out, he pulled my arm to him and kept slapping the inside of my elbow, when he found the vein he pushed the needle in and emptied it, after a while I began to feel an unnatural lethargy sweep over me and as my eyes closed the last thing I saw was the pharmacy sign, the green cross flashing behind my eyes like a neon firework "MELINDA!"**- **

"Melinda!" it was Olivia's voice, "MELINDA! What are you doing? What's happening honey? Can't you hear me?" she was asking frantically, Melinda barely had a chance to focus when Christopher reached out and held her arm, her eyes widened in fright before her eyelids fluttered and her vision was invaded by black spots like ink bleeding into her sight, a tingling sensation worked through her body until everything became blank.

"Christopher, please tell me that wasn't real, oh God, please tell me that was a nightmare and not a flashback!" Olivia pleaded, Melinda had been speaking aloud throughout the whole thing, she had unknowingly narrated the flashback to a shocked Olivia and Chris. They both had tears running down their cheeks "I think it was real, it was a memory, remember they told us about the drug use, I guess we never really thought about _how_ they gave them to her" Chris said grimly, Olivia let out a choked sob, "it was our fault, God knows how long she was standing there, she must have felt the same fear for us that she did for them, Chris...in her mind we were going to do that to her, we were going to attack her the way they did" she said brokenly.

"What's the time?" Chris asked, "after midnight" she replied "I'm calling social services" he said decisively, Olivia nodded, "I think that's the best thing right now, we need to find out what happened to her...we have the right to know, she's our daughter" she said sincerely, Chris walked out of the lounge but paused just through the doorway then walked back, he picked up all of the scattered papers and looked at the blue folder -_Case Report Docket No. JK-99-2307, Victim: Melinda Gordon, Assailant 1: David Grishon, Assailant 2...- "_Oh My God, Livvy come here" Christopher said, "look what Melinda was carrying when she came back downstairs, before she went up she said that she needed to make us understand. I think she was going to show us her case report, she was going to let us see everything that happened because she knew that we would never understand her otherwise... let's just read through this ourselves later-we don't need to bother social services at this hour" he said, he sighed and rubbed the stubble on his chin as he watched his distraught wife pace the length of the living room over and over.


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

Got some more sad and disturbing stuff for you in this chapter...I found it quite hard to write but I think it's kind of necessary to allow the story to go in the direction that I want it to LOL...EnJoy xx Lolly xx

P.S Thank you to everyone who reviewed since I got back, you're awesome xX much Love Xx

Christopher pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger "Olivia, calm down sweetheart, you're the best therapist in the whole of New York...try to think, you know what to do." he said, Olivia nodded and wiped the tears from her face in an attempt to appear composed, "it's called, involuntary psychological regression, sometimes we use a different form of it in therapy, it means that she not only _saw_ it tonight but she..._relived_ it. In my opinion when she wakes up she may be right back to where she was when she first came here, she may not want to be around anyone for a while" a choked sob escaped from her throat "usually I would sit and talk a person through everything that they saw and felt and I would try to help them to differentiate between the flash-back and the actual event. But I've never worked with someone like this, she didn't choose to look into the past, she was forced into it- it was triggered by the pharmacy bag, I think that there's a possibility that she might be even more afraid of the two of us now, she'll subconsciously associate us with the events in the flashback, kind of like blurring the lines of reality" she finished. Christopher let out a frustrated sigh "in English" he demanded rudely, Olivia's eyes brimmed with more tears and her lip quivered, Christopher sighed and pulled her into his arms "I'm sorry Livvy, I'm so sorry honey...I'm just scared okay, I'm really scared for her. I didn't mean to take it out on you" he said, Olivia sighed "I'm scared too" she whispered.

"In English...When Melinda saw the pharmacy bag her mind was involuntarily pulled into the past, she not only _saw_ what happened, she also _relived_ it- as in she felt everything..._everything_. When she wakes up it could be almost like the past few months haven't happened-she could regress completely to how she was on that first day at the motel, _but_ there's a chance that this has happened to her before and she will know how to handle it...I guess we just have to be prepared for anything" she said. "Should I wake her up?" Chris asked, Olivia bit her lip "Will you be okay to do it on your own? I'm gonna go and fill Jim in" she said, Christopher nodded "I'll try."

Olivia headed up the stairs saying goodnight to everyone on the first floor without letting them know that there was anything wrong, while she went to explain everything to Jim, Christopher considered the best way to approach the situation. Christopher kneeled next to the couch and brushed the back of his hand across Melinda's cheek, "Melinda, sweetheart wake up" he said softly, Melinda's eyelids fluttered open and she stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before turning her head towards Chris. Her lips parted and her eyes widened in fear as her breathing became heavy but somehow she couldn't tear her gaze away from him, tears prickled in her eyes and Christopher felt his heart break- she looked so vulnerable and innocent, he reached behind him and picked up the guardianship finalisation papers, holding them up for her to see he pointed to the signatures "you see honey, you don't have to be afraid, I know that what happened to you was awful...and I know that you must be really afraid right now, but I swear to you Melinda you have nothing to fear from us okay, we would never do anything to harm you...we're your _family._" Melinda sat up slowly and looked over to the pharmacy bag on the table, "don't worry, we can talk about that another time" Christopher said, he turned the bag so that the green cross faced the other way, "do you know what happened?" Christopher asked Melinda, she continued in her unwavering gaze and it wasn't until after a long pause that she gave a very slight nod, she opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something but then closed it and looked down.

Chris very slowly leaned forward and kissed Melinda softly on the forehead "don't be afraid to feel" he whispered, much to his surprise Melinda broke down in sobs and buried her head in her hands, "I know sweetheart, I know, everything's gonna be okay" Christopher soothed. Being careful and gentle her scooped Melinda up and sat back down cradling her in his arms, Melinda leaned her head on his shoulder for support as her whole body was wracked with heart-breaking sobs, "you'll be okay" Christopher said softly, he ran his hand through her hair and then gave her a fierce hug, Melinda clung on to his sweater and tucked her head into his chest, Melinda had calmed to small sniffles and yet the sound of choked sobbing still filled the air. It wasn't until Melinda looked up and wiped the streams of tears from his face that Christopher realised it had been himself crying, just then there was a knock on the lounge door although it was already open.

Melinda didn't even bother to look up as she felt Olivia's hand run through her silky hair, "Melinda, do you understand what happened?" Olivia asked gently as she sat down beside Chris and continued to run her hand softly through Melinda's hair, Melinda gave a very small nod into Christopher's chest, Jim tapped on the door lightly and Olivia whispered "it's Jim, sweety" Melinda gave another small nod and wiped her eyes, "come in" Olivia said aloud for her, Jim walked in and threw Olivia a sheepish smile and wiped the tears from his face before crossing the room and kneeling in front of Melinda and Christopher "are you feeling okay?" he asked her softly, Melinda didn't look up from Christopher's chest but gave a very small nod, "Honey do you feel like talking about it?" Christopher asked her gently.

Melinda sighed silently and gave her head a small shake, she looked up at Christopher with tears in her eyes and shook her head more deliberately, "that's okay sweetheart, you don't have to, would you like to get some sleep? We could just talk about this in the morning" he suggested, Melinda nodded and gave him a weak smile. "I'll come up with you" Olivia said sweetly, Melinda reached over and took Olivia's hand and held it to her own face then pressed a small kiss into her palm and held it to Olivia's cheek, the action brought tears to Olivia's eyes and she gave Melinda a gentle hug "Christopher, Jim, are you guys coming?" she asked, both looked at Melinda and nodded when they saw no sign of protest, Olivia led Melinda up the stairs and pulled back the covers for her, Melinda climbed in and sat with her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them.

"Is there anything I can get you first?" Christopher asked, Melinda shook her head and rested her chin on her knee, "good night sweetheart" he said before giving her a kiss on the head and leaving, Olivia did the same leaving Melinda and Jim alone. Jim shifted his weight from one foot to another with his hands in his shorts pockets nervously "do you still want me to stay with you? I don't mind if you changed your mind, I could just go and hang out in my room or I could wait with you until you fall asleep-" Jim trailed off when Melinda reached over and pulled the covers back, he threw her a heart-stopping smile and climbed in next to her, "I'll always be here Melinda, as long as you want me, I'll be here" he whispered to her softly, Melinda reached up to turn the light off and then pushed Jim's chest to make him lie down.

For the first time since the flashback Melinda spoke, albeit very quietly, she hovered over Jim with her legs between his and her hands holding her up on either side of Jim's shoulders, she lowered her face to within an inch of his and whispered "I'll always want you". Jim reached up and ran his hand through Melinda's hair and smiled when it fell back down and tickled his face, then he pulled her down to him, the moonlight poured through the glass wall bathing both of them in beautiful blue light, Melinda lifted her head from Jim's chest and kissed him softly on the lips then pulled back and bit her own, "I love it when you do that, bite your lip...don't understand it...but I love it" Jim said before rolling over so that Melinda was on her back and his legs were between hers, he peppered kisses from her neck to her mouth and then gently bit her bottom lip, he pulled back and smiled "hmm, now I see why it's so appealing" he said huskily, Melinda smiled and licked her bottom lip before running her hands up and down Jim's back and slipping them under his t-shirt and lightly dragging her nails across his skin leaving trails of tingles behind, Jim cupped her face with his hands and kissed her passionately, after a while Melinda wrapped her arms around Jim's waist and Jim draped his arm over her shoulders. It wasn't until 1:00am that they both finally drifted into sleep, Jim's was peaceful but Melinda's was invaded by violent nightmares-

**-"SHUT UP!" T.D yelled when Melinda screamed out in pain, Melinda recoiled as a hard fist connected with her jaw, she was sweating and shaking violently as she clawed at her own chest in a desperate attempt to calm the furious burning. "Just give her a shot man, she's having withdrawals" Joe said holding out a needle to T.D, "nah, it's kinda fun watchin' her like this, I think I'll wait a while" David joined in cruelly, they watched and laughed as Melinda shivered and writhed in agony-**

Melinda fussed and fidgeted in Jim's arms as the images flashed in her mind, she scratched at her chest and Jim subconsciously tightened his grip on her until she settled down after a while.

**-Melinda had been awake for 72 hours straight and could feel her mind begging for a break, she struggled to keep her eyes open but eventually gave in to the lethargy, she was dreaming of her parents second wedding-after 10 years of marriage they had decided to renew their wedding vows, 10 year old Melinda had been a bridesmaid in a beautiful soft pink dress and cream ballet shoes to match. Melinda's wonderful dream was rudely ripped away from her when steel toed doc Marten flew into her stomach, she was jolted awake and felt her eyes fill with tears as she was brought back into her horrific reality-**

Jim shifted uncomfortably in his sleep as Melinda jumped, he opened his eyes briefly and saw that she was still asleep so he relaxed once again and embraced his tranquil subconscious. Melinda sighed in her sleep and rubbed her cheek against Jim's chest, his steady heartbeat providing a little escape from the horror in her own mind-

-**"OH MY GOD!! Can you hear me kid?" a voice floated through the haze in Melinda's mind, she tried to raise her head but found that she was paralyzed by the darkness, she focused all of her energy on lifting one finger but was still unsuccessful, "I've called an ambulance for you hun' just hang in there okay" the voice soothed, Melinda felt something being draped over her and flinched involuntarily, "it's okay honey, it's just my jacket, you just try to stay calm okay, help is coming" that was the last thing Melinda heard before everything faded right back into silence-**

Melinda rubbed her hand up and down Jim's chest desperately seeking comfort, she moulded her body to his and felt slight relief when he rubbed her back softly in his sleep, even that however, was unable to keep the nightmares at bay-

**- Melinda screamed as she was hit over and over- the underwear and bra she had been dressed in providing no protection whatsoever from the onslaught, begging for mercy as she was beaten...a fist, a foot, a baseball bat, a lamp. Melinda shook violently as the blood poured steadily from her mouth "PLEASE!" came Max's voice "PLEASE STOP!" But nobody listened, they continued until Melinda knew nothing but the pain, they didn't stop until she couldn't scream anymore, she couldn't even remember her own name. As they left to get a round of drinks she felt herself being lifted from the floor, she opened her eyes to see Max's distraught face with tears flowing fast down his cheeks, "kill me" she whimpered "I'm begging you, please kill me, please end this I can't take it anymore, KILL ME!" she sobbed, her whole body shook with the force of it and she choked on the blood in her mouth as she was laid gently on the bed. Max filled a bowl with warm water and took a towel from the motel bathroom, he cleaned Melinda up as best he could, grimacing as the white towel was stained with Melinda's blood, Melinda cried out in pain as he tried to turn her on her side, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Melinda...I need to check your back" he said, he gasped as he caught sight of the bruises which were forming on her back, some old and some new made Melinda's back a mixing palette of purples, blues and greens with the occasional splash of black like ink spreading beneath the skin. Melinda's delicate hands, now covered in blood, gripped the bed sheets tightly as her whole body shook, "what's happening?!" Max yelled. "Oh God, she's going into shock" he mumbled to himself, he lifted Melinda after prizing her hands open to remove the fistfuls of fabric, he pulled the thick cover off the bed and wrapped her in it, slowly she began to relax and he sat by her side while she tried to regain control of her body.-**

XXXX RRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW XXXX


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

Jim was completely awake now, Melinda had begun shaking a few minutes before, he looked at the clock and saw that it was 3:59am, he turned the light on low and stroked Melinda's face. He brought his ear to her mouth and tried desperately to hear what she was whimpering, his heart broke all over again when he did "kill me...I'm begging you, please kill me...please...end this, I can't take it anymore. Kill me". Jim shook Melinda gently "honey wake up" he said softly, a few seconds later Melinda's eyelids fluttered open and hot tears burned their way down her cheeks, she sat up and looked at the clock -_4:00am...right on time-_she thought wryly. Jim's arms were around Melinda in a heartbeat and she melted into his embrace, "you okay?" Jim asked, Melinda just gave a weak nod and climbed off of the bed, Jim watched curiously as she padded over to the balcony doors and typed in her code, she walked barefoot onto the freezing cold decking-style wooden floor. Melinda ignored the fact that the ridges of the wood were digging into her feet and walked straight over to the railing, breathing in the crisp morning air and looking out onto the beautiful greenery surrounding them Melinda sighed, she was so involved in her musings that she didn't even notice that Jim had followed her outside, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rubbed soothing circles on her stomach.

Melinda leaned back on him and they stood in silence for a few minutes before Jim effortlessly lifted her by putting one hand behind her back and the other under her knees, she wanted to thank him, to tell him that she appreciated everything he was doing for her, but she just couldn't bring herself to speak. "you need to get some sleep honey, the day's gonna be full of plans and shopping for next week...do you still wanna go on the trip?" he asked, Melinda gave a small smile and leaned up to kiss his chin softly, Jim smiled "I'll take that as a yes" he said, he carried her in from the cold and lay her gently on the bed, "you need to relax" he whispered to her softly, he wiped the tears from Melinda's cheeks and kissed each one softly. Melinda closed her eyes and allowed her body to relax completely, Jim ran his hands down her neck and over her shoulders before using them to trace the soft curve of her waist, "sleep" he whispered then went back up in reverse and repeated it until Melinda's breathing evened out, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips and turned off the light before pulling her into his arms and rubbing soothing circles on her back and whispering "ssshh, I'm here, you're okay" every time he felt her stir, eventually Jim felt the familiar call of sleep too and prayed that Melinda's dreams would be as peaceful as his were.

It was 7:30am on Friday morning when Olivia's alarm went off rousing her from her disturbed sleep, she had spent most of the night worrying and crying and fretting over Melinda, Christopher had held her and whispered words of comfort as they read her file, he had decided to take the day off of work in order to spend a day with the family and prepare for their trip- if Melinda still wanted to go. Olivia rolled out of bed and padded down the stairs into the kitchen where Christopher handed her a cup of coffee and kissed her forehead, "I went upstairs as soon as I woke up, Jim's in Melinda's room and they both seem very comfortable ,if you know what I mean" Christopher said with a chuckle, Olivia smiled "I was worried that she wouldn't want to be around Jim after what happened but I guess I was wrong, I'm so glad that she can find comfort somewhere... but I can't help wondering if she'll ever let _me _in, I feel like we're on the outside, -you know?" she confided sadly, Christopher sat down at the table "I understand how you feel honey, but you just have to trust that one day she'll look at us and see a family instead of just...legal guardians. It's got to be hard for her you know? Her parents only died a matter of months ago and she's only been out of hospital for six weeks, she never really got a chance to deal with everything, after reading what happened I definitely understand things a little better. Like on the first day she came here, when I stuck my hand out for her to shake she closed her eyes and...she...she looked terrified. I thought I had done something wrong but I guess she had some kind of flash-back, how are we gonna get her to take her medicine?" he asked. Olivia opened the large pharmacy bag on the counter and poured out the contents, there was a large box of a medicine called NANDROLONE DECANOATE, she opened the box and sighed "how on earth are we meant to give her this?" she asked hopelessly-the box contained eight thin 1ml syringes in individual plastic packets which had peel-off lids, there were also eight tiny glass vials filled with the medicine to just over the 1ml mark, they had special caps which could be pierced by the needle without letting any medicine leak out. "After what they did to her?! No wonder she stopped taking her medication, couldn't they give it to her in a pill?" Olivia asked, Christopher chook his head regretfully " said that in such extreme cases we don't have time to wait for a pill to work, it's for her anaemia, without it she'll start passing out and get really weak. It has to be injected into a muscle" he said.

Olivia sighed and pulled the next thing from the bag, it was a similar sized box labelled IMMUNOGLOBIN (IgG) replacement, Olivia opened it and let out a groan of frustration "more needles? This is ridiculous, Melinda's never gonna want to sit back and let us use her as a pin cushion" she complained- the box contained the same number of syringes and vials as the other medicine. Christopher nodded "that one's for her immune system...without it she could get all sort of illnesses and infections because right now her body is way too weak to fight anything off", Olivia pulled a bottle out which read ARTIFICIAL NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT "no guesses what this is for...300 calories per pill, surely that's not enough" she said worriedly, Christopher nodded "that's what I said but the doc. said that she wants to get Melinda eating instead of relying on these, unfortunately they won't make her gain any weight and they're not enough to keep her going if she doesn't start eating properly, but something's better than nothing I guess" he said. The next bottle was VITAMIN B5, underneath was written TREATMENT OF MARASMUS, "Marasmus?" Olivia asked looking completely perplexed, "that's exactly what _I _said when I read it...it's a fancy word for starvation, Melinda's pretty much being treated for anorexia...which means that eventually if it doesn't work they will resort to an inpatient facility and a feeding tube. We just need to help her face her fears...it's not the _food_ she's scared of, it's what happens _because_ of it- the torture, the assaults, the beatings...and now the flash-backs." The next few bottles of pills were various vitamins to be taken daily, Olivia re packed all of them in the bag and lay her head on crossed arms on the kitchen table.

"Do you think Melinda will still want to go camping?" Olivia asked randomly a little while later, they were now down in the swimming pool watching Holly, Mitch and Alexis splash around, Christopher rubbed the stubble on his chin the way he always did when he was thinking, "I think so, she'll probably be happy to leave everything behind for a while, it'll take her mind off starting school as well I guess. I think it will be good for her, Jim mentioned that they bought a new tent when they went on that little shopping trip so I guess they've decided to share. Do you think...do you think that we're doing the right thing, you know, by letting them get so close? I mean it's been great for Holly and Mitch, it's worked out perfectly so far and I can't see them ever breaking up...but Melinda and Jim...I know he would never intentionally hurt her but I can't help but think that one day he might get..._carried away_ while their messing around and scare the hell out of her. I just worry that by letting her become so involved with him we're setting them both up for a huge fall" Christopher said worriedly, Olivia sighed "I think that no medicine in the world can heal your heart or soul, it's all fine and dandy giving her a drug-cocktail, but she's lost the only two people that she got love from in the world and I think that she really needs that from us right now, if she can find it with Jim then I'm happy for them both...I'm not saying that there won't be a few bumps along the road, but in the long-term I think it could be good for them, Jim needs her just as much as she does him" she said. Olivia kissed Christopher softly and jumped down off of the side of the pool "come on, catch me if you can!" she yelled swimming away as fast as she could, "I do love a challenge" Chris mumbled before diving after her.

On the top floor of the house at 8:00am, Jim was stirring out of his peaceful sleep and his heart swelled with joy when he realised he still had Melinda in his arms, he pressed a soft kiss to her head and padded to the bathroom and then downstairs to say good morning to everyone, when he saw that it was completely empty he jogged down to the lower ground games room, the room wrapped around in a sort of 'L' shape and past the couch and TV there was a glass sliding door which led to the indoor pool, Jim could see everyone splashing around and paused for a moment just to watch their smiling faces as they chased each other and the girls squealed with delight every time Mitch sent a wall of water their way with his arm, Jim chuckled and headed into the room, everyone greeted him 'good morning' and climbed out to give him wet hugs and kisses. Holly and Alexis jumped him one at a time and wrapped their arms and legs around him completely soaking his t-shirt then jumped back in the pool with squeals and giggles "thanks for that guys! You're real funny!" Jim said trying to sound angry but the huge smile on his face gave him away, "can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked Christopher and Olivia, they nodded and followed him into the games room with towels wrapped around them, "I haven't shown Melinda the pool yet, you think she'll wanna come and join you?" he asked more to himself than anyone, Christopher smiled "ask her" he replied simply.

Jim nodded "anyway, I just thought that you guys should know...Melinda had kind of a rough night, she had nightmares from the time she fell asleep until I woke her up at 4:00am, she was...she talked in her sleep, more like _cried_." Jim said, Olivia bit her lip and pleaded with Jim with her eyes to tell her more, Jim's face softened "she does that too, you know...bites her lip" he mused "umm, yeah, so she was like shivering and...she was asking...-" Jim shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other "-...she was begging...to be killed" he finally finished with a sigh, Olivia's eyes filled with tears immediately, she was always a sensitive person but it seemed as though the thought of Melinda in any kind of pain always made her a little extra emotional. "What _exactly_ did she say?" Christopher asked, always the one to find out the facts and then step back to assess the situation, Jim ran a hand through his hair as he always did when he was stressed "she kept on repeating...please kill me, please end this...I can't take it anymore, just kill me... That was when I couldn't take it anymore, I mean I couldn't just lay there and listen to her beg for death, so I woke her up. She cried for a while and went out onto the balcony and then I brought her back to bed and helped her get back to sleep", Christopher nodded deep in thought. " Olive Crest told us that Melinda woke up every morning at 4:00am without fail and refused to go back to sleep...How did you get her to do it?" Olivia asked curiously, "I just held her and...-" Jim trailed off remembering the way he had kissed her and run his hand up and down her body "do you really need to know?" he asked hoping that they would just drop it, Olivia laughed "I guess not, well, whatever works I guess. Why don't you go ask her if she wants to come down for a swim?" she suggested.

**Pweeeease Weview .....I wuv the weviews....weviews for Jimel luvv baby YEAH! Xx Lolly xx**


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

Thank you to all the awesome people who are still reviewing, you guys are the bestest xx Lolly xx

Jim nodded and headed upstairs, he was quite surprised to find the bed empty and only relaxed when he saw Melinda emerge from the bathroom with her toothbrush in her mouth, her eyes widened and she pulled her toothbrush out of her mouth and grimaced in embarrassment, Jim chuckled "you okay?" Jim asked, Melinda gave a small nod and held up a finger to say 'one minute' then went back into the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth, she came back out less than a minute later and smiled widely at Jim, "pearly white" he said before kissing her softly, "everyone's down by the pool, I never got a chance to show it to you, can you swim?" he asked, Melinda gave him a look that said 'duh' and nodded. She bit her lip as she worried about wearing a bathing suit in front of everyone, she thanked god for her ridiculously large bikini collection and grabbed one from her closet and headed to the bathroom to change, the halter-neck top was royal blue and white striped with a large red anchor on the left side, it was joined in the middle of the chest by a red ring, the shorts were red and white striped with a blue anchor on the left side and had 'captain' written on the back of the shorts in blue.

Downstairs Olivia and Christopher were speaking in hushed tones about how they were going to approach the topic of Medicine with Melinda, "we have to do it soon" Olivia said, Christopher nodded "we could bring her into the office at lunch time" he suggested, "I'll give you _the look_" he said, Olivia giggled "try to make it a little more obvious than the last time" she said with a chuckle, Mitch popped up between them "it's not nice to keep secrets children, I thought I taught you better than that" he joked before picking Olivia up and counting down from three while she giggled, squealed and kicked, on zero he launched her over his head and chuckled when she hit the water with a splash and resurfaced with a laugh.

* * *

Melinda studied herself in front of the mirror and decided that she was ready to go. She walked out wrapped in a massive blue towel to find Jim standing in Black board shorts with blue writing all over them saying 'Riptide Miami', Melinda allowed her eyes to roam shamelessly over the perfectly sculpted planes of his chest, she bit her lip to suppress a smile and watched as the muscles flexed while he walked. The shorts were riding low enough on his hips to reveal his very defined 'v' muscles and Melinda had to fight the temptation that had become ever-present. "Feel free to check me out, don't hold back" he joked, Melinda's cheeks reddened but she glared at him defiantly, he chuckled "you're not very intimidating honey, you're too cute to look mean" he mocked, Melinda shook her head and ran her hands slowly down his chest before hooking them onto the waistband of his shorts.

Jim kissed the top of her head and then placed his hand at the nape of her neck and brought his head down to hers for a gentle kiss, "let's go before I lose it" he said, Melinda smiled but hesitated when she realised that she had no idea what the other girls would be wearing, Jim sensed her unease "what's wrong?" he asked, Melinda bit her lip and looked at her towel, she unwrapped it and let if fall to the floor before looking nervously up at Jim. To her pleasant surprise his eyes were full of nothing but lust –_I must be doing something right-_ she thought happily, Jim pushed Melinda's door shut and swept her up into his arms "they can wait like five minutes" he said before laying her on the bed, he peppered kisses all over her face soliciting contented giggles, Jim ran his hand over her shoulders and traced her waist just like he had done earlier but this time he revelled in the feel of her silky skin under his fingers, Melinda shivered under his touch and he kissed her passionately "you're beautiful" he whispered sweetly to her, Melinda looked down in embarrassment and Jim placed a finger under her chin to lift her head until she looked him in the eye, she smiled and kissed him happily.

A few minutes later they were walking through the games room and round the corner to the sliding glass doors, the pool was ridiculously large, spanning across the space of almost half of the floor space of the house –one wall was the sliding doors to the games room, the one to the right of that was brick with the wood panels on the outside and the other two which formed an 'L' were made purely of glass. On closer inspection Melinda realised that the smaller second pool was outside and covered over. They walked hand in hand and everyone greeted her good morning, Melinda smiled back at them and walked over to the deck chairs to put her towel down, much to her relief Holly, Alexis and Olivia were all in similar style bikinis, feeling much more confident and comfortable she walked to the deepest end of the gigantic pool and read '3m (10ft)' followed by a green diving sign to say it was allowed, there was a large red circle with a line through which read underneath 'Non-Swimmers Prohibited in Deep end'.

Melinda had always been a strong swimmer, she did it for years as a young child and then took up diving at 13. "Melinda sweetheart, are you sure you don't wanna start at this end?" Olivia called nervously from the end that was only 4ft deep, Melinda shook her head and smiled, this was one thing that she was definitely good at. She raised her arms over her head and vaulted off the side of the pool completing an impressive and very neat 360 degree flip before gracefully slicing through the water and staying under until she reached Olivia who was shocked when she popped up in front of her. A round of applause followed by "Oh My God that was awesome shorty!" from Mitch, "She's making me look bad" from Christopher, "You so have to teach us to do that!" from Holly and finally "Your bikini is like _so_ hot!" from Alexis which caused everyone to look at her with 'what the hell' written on their faces, she blushed "well it is" she mumbled. Everyone, including Melinda, burst into carefree laughter Jim felt his heart warm at the musical sound of her gentle laugh, Olivia pulled Jim aside while Mitch and Christopher chased the girls around, diving out of sight and then reappearing to grab them.

"Honey, has Melinda spoken _at all_ since last night?" Olivia asked, Jim shook his head "no she hasn-..wait yeah, she did but only once" he said, Olivia nodded "what did she say?", Jim smiled "I told her that as long as she wanted me I'd be there and she said 'I'll always want you'" he said with a serene smile, Olivia smiled and rubbed his arm "you're a good man Jim, you really are. I'm proud of you sweety" she said, Jim smiled "thanks, I'm just happy that she's letting me be there for her" he said honestly, Olivia nodded and squealed when Christopher popped up and grabbed her from behind. Jim swam over to Melinda and pulled her to the shallow end of the pool so that they could both stand up properly, "I love the sound of your laugh, you should let us hear it more often" he said quietly, Melinda gave him a small smile and wrapped her arms around his waist. At 9:30 Christopher climbed out of the pool and called out to everyone "Right! Everyone on the side of the pool, I wanna talk about plans for tomorrow, it'll only take a minute" Christopher called out, everyone climbed out of the pool and sat on the floor in front of him, "okay, so it's 9:30am now, today we need to shop, fuel up the cars and pack. I need two of you to help Livvy with the shopping list and then go to the store with her...any volunteers?" he asked, Mitch and Alexis put their hands up and slapped high-five. Christopher smiled "okay, so the twins are on shop duty, Holly you can come with me to pick john up and we'll pick up the new barbeque" he said.

"Jim and Melinda I know it's a chore but would you please take care of the cars?" they both nodded and smiled at each other. "Who's cars are we taking?" Christopher asked raising his own hand, Alexis raised hers as did Mitch and Melinda after looking at Jim to check that it was okay, Christopher took his wallet from his deck chair and pulled out a quarter, "girls-heads, boys-tails, whoever it lands on takes the first shift of driving, sound fair?" he asked, everyone nodded and waited while he flipped the coin, Christopher put on a funny 'game-show-host' type voice and said "and the winner of the first driving shift is....drum roll please....the girls!" he announced. "Now, Holly, I only want you driving for two hours at a time okay, Mitch is gonna have to take extra shifts alright? Now...girls, you're gonna help Olivia with food packing, boys you're gonna help me with all of the equipment. I'm gonna go pick John up in like half an hour, everyone go and do your first job and then we'll meet back up before packing" he said clapping his hands, Holly and Alexis cheered and everyone headed upstairs to get showered and dressed.

Melinda pulled on some short denim shorts with a long tight fitting black v-neck t-shirt and a gold belt sat low on her hips, she matched it with gold gladiator sandals and a thin gold headband, she had straightened her dark hair so that her bangs fell over her eyes but were swept to the side and the rest of her hair was styled to make all of the layers visible giving her an edgy rocker-chic look. Melinda was sat at her dresser applying some light make up when there was a knock at her door, she gave herself a once-over in the mirror and opened it to find Jim standing wearing a purple t-shirt that said 'it wasn't me...I swear!' in white writing, with a pair of black jeans and the world's most handsome smile. She smiled up at him and he leaned down to kiss her softly, "you look gorgeous Melinda, I like your hair" Jim complimented honestly, Melinda smiled widely in thanks and led him downstairs where Christopher, "damn girl you look hot!" Alexis yelled as her and Mitch threw her their car keys "take care of my baby, love the hair by the way!" Mitch yelled as he pulled on his shoes to get ready to leave for the store with Olivia and Alexis who were waiting at the kitchen table. "Your hair does look very nice like that sweetheart, do either of you have any special requests?" Olivia asked while finishing up the shopping list, Melinda shook her head which made Olivia frown "sweetheart, there must be something that you'd like, anything?" Melinda smiled and shook her head again, "how about you Jim?" Olivia asked with a hopeful expression, Jim smiled "peanut butter and fluff?" Olivia nodded to let him know it was already on the list, Jim pursed his lips and stroked an imaginary beard trying to look like he was deep in thought, "candy, _lots_ of candy for the drive...I have a sweet tooth, actually _a lot_ of sweet teeth" he said earning a grin from Melinda, "oh...how about some Hoho cakes?" Jim asked, Olivia held up the list and pointed to show that she had already written it, "Twinkies?" he asked, "oooh, good thinking, I completely forgot!" Olivia said happily.

"Let's go honey, you take your car, I'll take Mitch's, the gas station's not far from here so you should be able to follow me no problem" Jim said taking a credit card that Jim was holding out, Melinda handed him Mitch's keys and they headed out to the garage. Melinda climbed into her car and Jim climbed into Mitch's, Melinda followed him for the five minute drive and pulled up at the pump behind his, she smiled at him as they climbed out at the same time and stood by the pumps, "you really okay about going on this trip?" Jim asked as he swiped the credit card and handed it to Melinda for her to do the same, she smiled and nodded, Jim sighed as he wondered when Melinda would speak to him, or anyone, again, he motioned for Melinda to get into the car and he hung up her pump and headed to the car. Once they had finished up they drove back to the house and parked next to each other, "you want Chris' or Alexis'?" Jim asked, Melinda threw him the keys to Alexis' pink Porsche 977, "you're cruel, do I really have to drive this..._thing?!" _he asked incredulously, Melinda threw him an evil smile and blew him a kiss before climbing into Christopher's black 2007 Jaguar XF, Jim groaned and slid into the modified pink leather interior the whole thing looked like a Barbie doll dream car –_more like nightmare-_he thought wryly. He chuckled to himself and raised his eyebrows in surprise when he realised that Melinda had already pulled out of the driveway and was cruising the route to the gas station, he followed her with a smile on his face, happy to see her playful side once again.

PPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE Leave a review x I love to hear what you think and use them as inspiration to write............Xx Lolly xX


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

They filled up the tanks while stealing glances at each other every now and then, "gonna go get some smokes, you want anything" Jim asked casually, Melinda's face was a picture of shock and she scrunched up her nose in disgust "they're for Mitch" he added, Melinda mouthed 'oh' and smiled, "so do you want anything?" Jim asked again, she shook her head and leaned against the car fiddling with her licence card, four boys and a beautiful girl around Jim's age pulled up in an open-topped jeep and climbed out, three of them went into the little store, the girl sat on the bonnet of the jeep and one stayed to do the gas. The boy who stood by the gas pump had messy bronze hair, bright blue eyes and a perfectly toned body shown off in a black tank top and faded jeans, he threw Melinda a smile which she returned before looking away shyly. "You're not from around here" he stated matter-of-factly, Melinda looked at him questioningly, he smiled "first of all...the car, second of all...you're hot so I would've remembered, and third...the gas pumps here have a clip, if you don't push it in it leaks" Melinda's eyebrows knotted in confusion and he hung up his pump and came round her side, she looked at her own and her eyes widened "crap" she muttered despite herself, there was sticky black petrol leaking out the top of the hose, she grabbed it and squealed when she got the nasty liquid all over her hands, the boy chuckled and nudged her out of the way with a smile and did it himself laughing when he came away with hands that matched hers. She nodded in thanks, he held out his hand for her to shake "Jacob Cooper" he said, Melinda smiled and handed him her licence instead of shaking his hand, "you're not very talkative are you...Melinda from California?" he asked reading her licence and handing it back, Melinda shook her head nervously –_bring on the insults, tell me I'm a freak-_she thought sadly. Jacob smiled and pulled his tank top over his head and wiped his hands on it before holding it to Melinda, she took it hesitantly "it's fine, I have a spare t-shirt in the jeep" he said, she smiled and cleaned her hands off.

"You just visiting?" he asked, Melinda shook her head, he eyed her (Christopher's) car and then looked her up and down "I'm guessing Austin James prep school? You don't look like a loser..." he said with mock confusion, the girl jumped of the jeep and smacked his arm "ignore him, he's a tool" she said, now on the ground Melinda could see that the girl must have been close to 6ft with her killer-heeled wedges, she put her hands on her hips and flipped her honey blonde hair over her shoulder "I'm Ashley, this dick's my brother" she said with disgust. "We go to Austin James too, but most of the schools population consists of snotty little nerds, you'll have to hang out with us...there's no way in hell I'm gonna let you sink into that world of loserdom...you're too cute" she said with a smile which Melinda returned, "how old are you?" Ashley asked, "17 at the end of this month" Jacob answered for her making Melinda smile, "I'm 17 in two months, we're close, do you have a boyfriend?" she asked, Melinda was slightly taken aback by her forwardness but pointed at Jim through the window of the store, the girls eyes widened and for a split second a look of disgust passed over Jacobs features but it was gone before Melinda had time to react, Ashley smiled "Oh. My. God. I totally had a crush on him last year, he went to Austin James for a while with the rest of the Jenner's adoptees, have you met Mitch, that guy is to _die_ for, almost as hot as Jim" she said, Melinda nodded with a smile, "wait are you one of them now too?" she asked sounding impressed, Melinda gave a small nod "Oh! That explains a lot, you all have those cars, will you be in on Monday?" Ashley asked, Melinda shook her head and opened her mouth to speak but once again Jacob came to her rescue "give the girl a break, you'll see her when she gets there", Ashley nodded "look for a blue Ferrari, I'm only riding with these losers today because I don't take my car to the woodlands" she explained, Melinda nodded and gave her a small wave as she climbed in the car, Jim walked up to her and gave Jacob a death-glare which he returned with venom, Melinda looked confusedly back and forth between them until the three other guys came back to their jeep, a tall and muscular boy with caramel colored skin and green eyes held his hand up in a 'hello' gesture, she smiled shyly up at him, "Sean" he said, to which she just smiled "this is Melinda" Jacob said to Sean as well as a typical California surfer boy called Danny and a boy who looked younger and more shy, he had freckles and braces, named Dean. They all waved as they climbed into the jeep not even bothering to open the doors. Melinda smiled and waved as they started the engine "see you soon" Ashley yelled standing up in the back of the jeep, Melinda waved back and turned to Jim.

"I disappear for five minutes and you have Cooper stripping for you" he disbelievingly, she smiled, shrugged and climbed back into Chris' car, they drove back to the house one behind the other and within five minutes they were back in the garage.

Once they got out Melinda jumped on Jim and wrapped her legs around his waist "well hello there little lady, I missed you too...five minutes distance really does make the heart grow fonder" he joked before kissing her passionately, Melinda tangled her hands in his hair and carried on kissing him as he walked them up the driveway, she stopped just as they reached the door but decided not to get down. Jim covered her ears with his hands "Cars are done!" he yelled out to anyone that was listening, Christopher was in the kitchen tapping his car keys against the wood "thanks guys, Livvy, Mitch and Alexis are at the store and I'm just waiting for Holly to _put down that damn lip gloss and get her butt down here" _he said the last part extra loud so that she could hear, "coming!" she yelled emerging from the bottom of the stairs in a pair of gray cut off jeans which ended just above her knees and a pink tank top. "We'll see you guys later okay, Olivia won't be back for a while so you guys have about an hour off, I suggest you use it for packing and not anything..._else" _he said with his eyebrows raised suggestively, Melinda, tucked her head into Jim's chest in embarrassment and he kissed the top of it, "see you soon" Jim said as Christopher walked out the door followed by Holly, Jim walked to the fridge with Melinda wrapped around him he pulled out a bottle of water and took a sip, "want some?" he asked, Melinda eyed it nervously before shaking her head and resting it back on Jim's shoulder "I have to eat Melinda, will you have some toast?" he asked, she shook her head and Jim sighed, "you have to eat something. I'll make you a deal, you eat toast...I'll do one thing that you really want me to, whether I want to or not" he said, Melinda smiled at him and shook her head in disbelief, "do we have ourselves a deal?" Jim asked, Melinda nodded and kissed his cheek.

Jim struggled to keep his focus and make them two slices of toast each while Melinda kissed his neck passionately, once he was finished he carried the plate and bottle of water up the stairs while Melinda sucked a particular spot on his neck which was driving him wild, as soon as he got through his bedroom door he rested the stuff down and wrapped his arms around Melinda, she bit down on his neck then kissed it softly, "wait...did you just give me a hickey?" Jim asked happily, Melinda nodded and bit her lip, "mind if I return the favor?" he asked mischievously, Melinda threw her hair over her shoulder and leaned her head back so Jim had perfect access, Jim kissed her neck softly before sucking on the skin and making Melinda giggle quietly when he said "forget the toast, you taste awesome" against her neck, Melinda had ended up with a perfect hickey in exactly the same spot as Jim's. Jim sat down on the bed and pulled Melinda down with him, he handed her a piece of toast and chuckled when she wrinkled her nose in disgust, "remember our deal, I'll do..._anything_" Jim said enticingly, Melinda sighed and nibbled at the toast until she had finished one slice, she started on the other but it was too much after a few bites and she gagged as she tried to swallow it, Jim gave her a drink of water and smiled "you did good" he said comfortingly, Melinda gave him a weak smile and rested her head in her hands, "let's pack" Jim said, Melinda nodded went into her closet before realising she had no idea what to put her stuff in- _can you take a suitcase camping?- _ she wondered, she had been many times before but only overnight so she would usually just take a small rucksack. Jim walked in a minute later and wrapped his arms around her from behind "just so you know, we're getting a cabin... so you can bring a suitcase if you want. We're gonna use the cabin as a kind of base and then wander around a little and find somewhere to camp out, I guess if the weather gets really bad we'll stay inside though" he said, Melinda nodded-_I swear he just read my mind-_she thought and pulled a large black shiny hard suitcase out of her closet and Jim carried it to the bed for her and opened it, Melinda disappeared into the closet once again and re-emerged with a large pile of neatly folded clothes.

She fitted the pile into half of the left side of the suitcase then went back while Jim watched in amusement, this time Melinda was carrying a pile of things on hangers, she unclipped and folded everything with Jim's help and put them in the other half, next Melinda picked out her underwear and fitted them into the gaps, she repeated the process with pyjamas, swimwear, toiletries, makeup, and shoes until eventually her massive suitcase was full. Jim laughed raucously when she tried to lift it down from the bed, the suitcase came to just above her waist and was three times as wide, Melinda scowled at him and he soon jumped up to do it for her, he left it by her bedroom door and they headed into his room to do the same, Christopher, Holly and John had arrived home halfway through Jim's packing but they decided to finish up before heading downstairs, Jim's suitcase took half as much time as Melinda's as he was just throwing random clothes in without putting too much thought into it. Once they were finished they met up with everyone in the kitchen just as Olivia and the twins came in carrying all of the food shopping, Alexis ran to John and kissed him happily, as did Holly to Mitch. "Was the drive alright?" Alexis asked John, he chuckled "yeah, I had Holly's singing to keep me entertained...or in pain" he joked, Holly slapped his arm and stuck a piece of chewing gum in her mouth "I only got stuck with you because your girlfriend was on shopping duty" she sniped jokingly, John laughed "that's alright, I don't think I could have handled Alexis' rendition of 'I will always love you' again, my ears are still recovering!" he said poking out his tongue at both of them and bolting around the table when Alexis went after him, he ran and stood behind Melinda "you must be the new girl Melinda, I'm John Roberts" he said with a smile which Melinda returned-_Holly probably told him not to try and shake my hand-_she thought with gratitude.

Olivia stood on a chair and banged a wooden spoon on a frying pan which caused everyone to quieten down and look at her in confusion. "It is now 11:00am, I'm going to make an early lunch because we're going out to dinner tonight, I know none of you can really drink yet but we have a closed booth at 'AquaLounge' and we've pulled a few strings to get you all in, once we've loaded up the cars you have the afternoon to pack and then I want you all ready for 6:30, no jeans, no shorts, no t-shirts. Guys, I wanna see you in shirts and slacks, ladies...well, you don't need my help, but I want you all looking hot. _On time..._that means you Holly" she said, everyone laughed and nodded and then Alexis and Holly vaulted into a rant about what they were going to wear, Jim smiled at Melinda and squeezed her hand "Guys! I want all of you boys to go pack up the equipment while me and the girls do the food, let's get this done quickly so we have time to pack" she said, Christopher helped her down from the table and then gathered the boys in the lounge where he had dumped all of the equipment. Olivia had the girls sort out the food into breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and then pack everything into bags and carrying them out to the cars, all food that needed to be kept in the fridge would be packed in coolers in the morning along with sandwiches, snacks, candy and drinks for the drive.

While the girls were working the boys had carried out all tents, sleeping bags, bedding and hiking gear into the cars and Mitch and Christopher had gone off to pack, since Jim was already packed up he chose to help the girls as they tidied up the rest of the house. Olivia made cheese and ham toasties for everyone and laid out packets of potato chips and dip on the kitchen table. By the time everyone had finished eating it was 1:00pm and Holly and Olivia had goon to have a session together, Alexis had gone to pack dragging John with her.

I'll be updating again today xx REVIEW..._please_ xx xx Lolly xx


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

Anyone who is freaked by needles look away because this might make you wig out on me! Some fluffy stuff too, don't worry!............Enjoy xx Lolly xx

"Melinda, can I see you in my office honey?" Olivia asked, Melinda sighed and nodded-_should have seen that coming-_she thought, instead of panicking about the subject of medication she decided on an alternative route "I want Jim with me" she said, Olivia nodded and Jim followed her to the office where Christopher was already waiting, luckily the room was large enough that Melinda didn't feel trapped. Jim held Melinda's hand and she sat on his knee, Christopher had lined up each bottle and box of medication as well as a bottle of water and some cotton wool. "I had hoped that the doctor would be able to come down and explain all of this to you but it turns out she's on call today, she asked me to go ahead. First of all I want to explain what each of these is" he said eyeing Melinda cautiously, she gave a small nod and Christopher explained what each drug was and what it was for, "here's the thing Melinda, two of them are injections that have to be administered twice a week, it's either you let me do it or you go to the hospital to get it done" he said, Melinda nodded with tears in her eyes. "Please don't cry sweetheart, I'm going to try and make it as easy on you as I can" he soothed, Jim rubbed comforting circles on her back as a sob escaped her throat, Christopher lined up the pills and vitamins that she had to take and she did them two at a time while crying the whole way through, "how do you wanna do this?" Christopher asked, Melinda's bottom lip quivered and she bit it to keep herself from bursting into full on sobs, "hold your arm out baby" Jim whispered, she shook her head, turned back to face him and hid her face in his chest, Jim lifted her leg to wrap around himself and kissed Melinda's forehead, he turned his chair around so Melinda was now facing Christopher again, "hold your arm out and keep looking at me, just look at me" he whispered, Melinda did as she was told and pressed her forehead to Jim's, he wrapped one arm around her and stroked her hair with the other, Christopher rubbed the inside of Melinda's elbow and she couldn't help but watch as he turned a tiny vial upside down and drew the liquid into a thin needle, he gave her a nod before pushing the needle into her arm slowly and gently, tears sprang to her eyes and she grabbed onto Jim's shoulder as the medicine was forced into her vein, Jim hated to see her in pain and kissed her neck comfortingly, once he was done Christopher wiped Melinda's arm and kissed it "all done honey, you did great sweety" he said with a smile.

"The next one has to go into a muscle, it's up to you where...leg or stomach?" he asked, Melinda climbed off of Jim's lap and stood in front of Christopher's chair, she pulled her tank top up and tucked it under the bottom of her bra, Christopher smiled up at her "you're a very brave girl Melinda, I admire that" he said honestly, Melinda smiled and waited while he filled the needle, once he was ready he wiped Melinda's stomach with the wet cotton wool and then rubbed it roughly to bring up the main veins so he could avoid them, "this may hurt more than the last one because it's going straight into your muscle" he said, Jim's arms were around her from behind in a split second and she leaned her head back on him as the needle was pushed in, Melinda whimpered at the pain of the thicker needle and cried out as Christopher emptied the syringe. Once he finished up she pulled her top down and gripped her stomach which felt as though it had just been lit on fire. "You need come down here to take these pills every morning when you wake up, the injections on Saturdays and Tuesdays, you okay?" Christopher asked, Melinda nodded and gave him a small smile, Olivia had gone through to the bedroom as she was afraid of needles and thought her presence would be rather counterproductive.

* * *

Jim pulled Melinda's hand and led her outside into the sunny day, she followed him happily through the woods until they reached the stream and he pulled her down onto the floor "shoes off" he said pulling his own off as well as his tank top, Melinda did the same and smiled when Jim 's eyes were unable to leave her, she threw her tank top down next to his and pulled him towards the water, he snapped out of it with a sheepish grin and stepped into the shallow stream, "let's go further, there's a bigger pool down the hill, you up to swimming?" he asked, Melinda nodded and waded through the water until they reached the pool they swam from one side to the other through the clear warm water with the sun beaming down on them, on the other side of the pool the water flowed quicker as the land sloped gently towards a large glistening pool.

Melinda's eyes widened in awe and she walked down towards it with the water passing all around her, "it's pretty deep in the middle so be careful okay" Jim warned, Melinda nodded and swam to the bottom revelling in the feeling of freedom that it brought, she swam underwater for a while without coming up for air and found Jim's legs, she held onto them and pulled herself up, Jim grabbed her waist and lifted her so that she was at eye level, Melinda wrapped her legs around his waist and stared into his eyes intensely, Jim ran his hand up her sides slowly before kissing her slowly, their lips teased each other sensually until they eventually broke apart but kept their foreheads together, Melinda wrapped her arms around Jim's neck and held him as close as she could, Jim buried his head in the crook of her neck and breathed in her soft scent, Melinda smiled and ran her hands through his hair and massaged his head with her fingers, Jim smiled against Melinda's neck and leaned back to look at her, her skin was glowing in the sunlight and a light blush adorned her cheeks. Jim held the sides of her face and sent his lips crashing down on hers, he walked over to the edge of the pool where the water was only about 1ft deep, he gently lay Melinda down in the water and lowered himself on top of her "I don't ever want this to end" he whispered with his mouth only centimetres from hers, Melinda gazed up at him from beneath her lashes and bit her lip "me neither" she whispered.

* * *

At 5:00pm Melinda was sitting on Alexis' bed with Holly as Alexis struggled to choose an outfit for the night, "I hate clothes, I don't want to wear a skirt and there's no way in hell you'll ever see me in a dress" she whined, Melinda stood up and put a hand on Alexis' shoulder, she pointed to the closet with a questioning glance, "go ahead, I'll pay you a million dollars if you can find something in there" she said, Melinda smiled with a glint of determination in her eyes and disappeared into the room which was quite a bit smaller than her own closet, she reappeared five minutes later and pulled Alexis into the closet. She handed her a powder pink satin camisole with lace trim and a pair of hip hugging high-waisted skinny black jeans that had buttons from the top of the waist to the lower hip line and were stacked at the bottom, she checked the size of a couple of pairs of Alexis' shoes then held a finger up to tell her to wait there, while Alexis changed Melinda ran up to her room and pulled out a pair of pointed pink stilettos and a black patent leather purse that had the Coco Chanel logo in light pink on the front, she jogged back down to Alexis' bedroom and slipped into the closet with her, she held out the shoes for her to put on then hooked the purse over her shoulder, Alexis stepped in front of the mirror "ohmygod" she breathed out as she studied her reflection in the mirror "Melinda how did you do that? I look..." "beautiful" Melinda whispered, Alexis threw her arms around Melinda then pulled back as though she might have snapped Melinda in half, "I'm sorry...is it okay if I hug you?" she asked, Melinda nodded with a wide smile and hugged her back happily, "thank you soooo much!" she squealed "I don't think anyone's ever seen me looking like this" she said happily, she took the outfit off and wrapped a towel around herself to prepare for her shower and hung the clothes on the silver rail that ran along one wall in the closet. Holly was bouncing up and down by the time they got out "I heard happiness, spill" she demanded, "you'll just have to wait and see..." Alexis said mysteriously.

"Melinda, honey you there?" Jim called from outside, she said bye to Holly Mitch and Alexis and went to meet Jim on the landing, she smiled at him and he kissed her cheek "do you know what colour you're wearing?" he asked as they reached her room, Melinda nodded and put her hand on the purple wall, "do I get to _see_ what you're wearing?" he asked, Melinda shook her head with a devious smile, she gave him a chaste kiss and pushed him towards the door, "oh I see how it is...fine, but you'll miss me" he mock protested. Once Melinda was alone she showered then straightened her freshly washed hair and let her bangs fall in soft spikes that tickled her eyelids and quivered when her eyelashes hit them, she perfected her smoky plum coloured eye-shadow with gold highlights that enhanced the natural sparkle of her eyes, her dress was a satin plum halter-neck, the plunging neckline- joined by a single strand of diamonds - went down to under the bust where the dress was cinched in by a horizontally pleated band which accentuated her tiny waist, the pleats were littered with randomly sized diamonds that sparkled when they caught the light. From there the silky fabric flowed out over Melinda's stomach and hips ending halfway down her thighs- rather short but still very elegant.

She slipped on a pair of high cream stilettos and put her cell phone and lip gloss into a small rectangular clutch purse with a diamante covered gold clip, she finished off with a pair of large diamond studs and a gold necklace which had a single diamond hanging from it, she checked her reflection in the mirror and smiled. There was a knock at her door and she was surprised to see Olivia, Holly and Alexis standing on the other side, their eyes all widened "you look beautiful" Olivia said, "so do all of you" Melinda said quietly with a shy smile, they exchanged compliments on outfits and accessories for a while –Olivia was wearing a similar dress to Melinda's though it was blue and had a higher neckline and reached her knees, she had on a pair of high-heeled silver Mary-Jane shoes with glittering buckles on the outside, Holly was wearing a hot pink lacy camisole under a cream blazer with a soft pink pleated skirt and cream ballet flats and Alexis was wearing the outfit that Melinda had chosen for her.

"I banished the boys to the games room an hour ago, they all look gorgeous I must say" Olivia revealed, Melinda smiled and nodded, "you ready to go?" Alexis asked, they all nodded and headed downstairs into the lounge. "You can come up and worship us now!" Holly yelled causing giggles from all of the girls, the stomping of feet and opening of a door were followed by a low whistle that came from Christopher, "you all look beautiful" he said with admiration in his tone, he was wearing a classic black suit with an un-tucked midnight blue shirt to match Olivia's dress. Mitch was wearing a light pink shirt, with the top few buttons open, over cream slacks and John was wearing a white shirt, a pink tie loosely around his neck and black trousers. All of them looked like male models but Melinda's eyes were transfixed on someone else entirely, at the back of the group wearing black slacks with a black shirt that had folded up three quarter length sleeves with diamond cufflinks and a satin plum tie done loosely under the three open buttons at the top of his shirt and a smile that had caused her heart to stop beating altogether...was Jim.

I'll update again soon x x PLEASE PRESS THE BUTTON

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	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

A bit of much needed uplifting fluff xx As well as some kinda sad/sweet stuff too..........Much love to all xx Lolly xx

The others chatted and laughed as Melinda and Jim's eyes met across the room, he walked over to her slowly and she had to suppress a moan when the sensual scent of his cologne washed over her, he smiled and his lust filled blue eyes roamed over her settling on her own hazel ones which were slightly widened in nervousness. "You look...there isn't even a word that comes close but the best I've got is...beautiful, I mean it Melinda, you're beautiful" he said in her ear, "thank you, you look...wow..I um...I can't think" Melinda whispered to him struggling to find focus in her completely fuzzy brain as he ran his hand across her bare back, Jim smiled and dipped his head down and kissed her neck where her small but noticeable purple love-bite was "it matched my dress" Melinda whispered breathlessly, Jim smiled against her skin and ran his nose along her collarbone, "you're dress..._that_ _dress_" he whispered into her neck, they were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't notice the silence that had fallen over the room, Jim captured Melinda's lips in a slow and gentle kiss which continued until a loud snicker escaped from Holly, Jim and Melinda broke apart and she cringed "do you to think you two can make it through dinner?" Olivia asked struggling to suppress her laughter, "keep your hands to yourself, no loving up on Melinda while I'm around" Christopher mock warned, Jim saluted him with a serious expression on his handsome features "I'll have her home by midnight sir" he said making everyone laugh as they walked out of the door. Melinda and Jim climbed into Jim's yellow Porsche 911, Mitch and Holly were in Mitch's black Ferrari, Alexis and John were in Alexis' pink Porsche 977 and Christopher and Olivia were in his Jaguar XF.

They followed in a line from the house to 'AquaLounge' which was just over the border of NYC and so only took half an hour. They climbed out of their respective cars and handed their keys to valet who looked at them all in awe, the pairs held hands and walked into the restaurant where they were led to and seated in a private VIP booth, they had large leather couch which wrapped around a massive table that could seat 15. Christopher stood up and cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention "As you all know, Melinda here joined us a week ago, we were a little apprehensive considering we already had four kids in the house, we weren't sure if Melinda would be able to settle in alright and we weren't sure how you would react to having a new girl in the house, but the day that she came here we realised that...she was one us, you _are_ one of us" he said with a smile "this is your home now, and we could never replace what you had with your parents...we would never try to do that, you'll hold them in your heart forever. We just hope that you'll be able to find room in that beautiful heart of yours for all of us too, Melinda...welcome to the family honey" he finished, Melinda had tears in her eyes and stood up to hug him, "you're already in my heart" she whispered in his ear, Christopher pulled back in surprise and gave her a wide smile, he kissed her cheek and whispered back "as you are in ours sweetheart". Melinda sat back down on Jim's right side and they were brought menus, they all ordered their food and chatted through the short wait, Melinda eyed her soup starter nervously which didn't go unnoticed by Jim, he rested his right hand on her thigh under the table and kissed her cheek "I'm here" he reminded her quietly, she rested on of her hands atop his and began eating her soup, after the main courses were cleared away and everyone was waiting for dessert, conversation turned to travel arrangements.

While everyone chatted away Christopher, who was on Melinda's right side, leaned over to her "sweetheart, I spoke to Lisa earlier today, I told her we were going to be in Cali for the week and she said she'd like to see you, what do you think?" he asked, Melinda's whole face lit up at the thought of being able to see Lisa again and she nodded enthusiastically, "I'm glad, you'll get there tomorrow evening, our hotel isn't too far from the offices. We're staying in the same place on the way back as well" he said, Melinda was so touched by his kindness that she couldn't help the tears that fell down her cheeks, "I hope those are tears of joy" Christopher said with a smile which Melinda returned, she gave him a tight hug and kissed his cheek "thank you" she whispered just as the waiter came round with everyone's desserts. Melinda had decided not to order anything but Jim had ordered a chocolate sundae with two spoons, he held one out to Melinda but she shook her head, Jim narrowed his eyes and scooped some onto his own spoon, he took half of it into his mouth and then held the spoon out to Melinda. Melinda took it into her mouth and Jim pulled it out slowly with a smile, he reached out to catch a drip on Melinda's chin with his finger and she gently took his hand, Jim watched pleasant shock as she sucked the ice-cream off the end of his finger then gave him a devilish grin with a mischievous glint in her eyes gazing up at him from beneath her dark lashes, Jim's eyes fixed on her lips and he subconsciously licked his own, "ahem! We're all still here" came Alexis' voice, but this time neither Jim nor Melinda cared, she reached up and cupped his cheek before kissing him softly. The rest of the room disappeared as their lips danced, butterflies fluttered pleasantly in Melinda's stomach and electricity flowed through her skin as Jim's cool fingers trailed up her back, everyone watched open mouthed as the pair kissed endlessly, they broke apart and Melinda was left breathless while Jim sat looking dazed.

"When do you think they'll snap out of it?" Holly asked a few minutes later, Jim and Melinda had been staring into each other's eyes and playing with each other's fingers on top of the table the whole time, "they're going to have to soon, we're leaving" Holly replied, Melinda grudgingly flicked her eyes to the table and sure enough people were beginning to stand, "let's go home" Jim said to her holding out his hand, Melinda took it and followed Jim and the rest of the family as they all chatted about what an amazing night it had been, "it was beautiful, thank you so much" Melinda said to Olivia and Christopher as they waited for valet. The two of them smiled and pulled Melinda into a three-way hug before leaving to climb into their car, they all headed home and by 10:30 they were bidding each other an early good night as they had to be up and dressed by 6:00am.

* * *

As soon as he got through his bedroom door Jim spun Melinda around and pressed her against the wall causing her to squeak in surprise, her eyes widened in fright for a second before her face relaxed and a devilish grin spread across her face, she hooked her stiletto clad feet behind his back and wrapped her arms around his neck which stirred the butterflies in Jim's stomach, "are you gonna talk to me?" he asked with the lopsided grin that made her heart struggle to maintain its steady rhythm, Melinda refused to lose her cool and pushed against his chest before jumping down to the floor.

Jim watched in amusement as she sat at his dresser and took of her necklace and earrings then kicked off her shoes and walked back to him. Melinda took Jim's cufflinks between her fingers and unclipped them one by one, she undid his shirt, button by button, and pushed it off his shoulders as he watched her, Melinda undid his belt and zip and he stepped out of his trousers and pulled his socks off, Melinda then turned around and pointed to the back of her dress. Jim didn't need to be asked twice and undid the button, which held the halter-neck together, allowing the straps to fall down before unzipping the back of the dress and letting it slide to the floor. Melinda turned around and gazed into Jim's eyes with love burning in her own, afraid to voice her feelings Melinda lowered her head and bit her lip, mistaking her actions as shyness Jim lifted her head and kissed her before pulling her into his arms. Melinda let her head rest against his chest and sighed, tears prickled behind her eyes as she thought about her feelings for Jim-_there's no other way to explain it, I'm in love with him, I just wish he could feel the same-_Melinda was lifted into Jim's arms and he pulled back the covers of his bed before laying her gently down, "why are you crying?" he asked softly, he reached out and wiped a tear from Melinda's cheek which she didn't know had fallen, she closed her eyes and lay her hand atop Jim's on her cheek.

"Does it still hurt...to think about them?" she whispered, not needing an explanation as to who she was talking about, Jim nodded "I miss my parents every day, sometimes it's worse than others, it's usually just like...a dull ache in my heart, constantly there but bearable. There are some days when I don't think I'll survive the pain, but I have a family who love me and that's enough to get me through" he said, Melinda sat up and her chin quivered and she bit her lip to stop herself from bursting into tears, "I miss them so much" she whispered, Jim's heart cried out as her face crumpled and she dropped her head into her hands, her slender shoulders shook with her quiet sobs and Jim remembered all the times he lay in that same bed crying over his own parents –_I need to be there for her-_he thought to himself. Jim turned his bedroom light off and climbed into bed "lay down" he told Melinda quietly, she did as she was told and curled up on her side, Jim pulled her closer to him and gently pushed her knees down and shuffled her so that she was laying flat on her back, "tell me about them" he requested gently. Melinda close her eyes and smiled through her tears "my mom was beautiful, her hair was a little darker than mine, her bangs were cut exactly the same, my dad used to make fun of her for it, said she was trying to make a miniature Sarah. She had the softest skin, it always looked sun-kissed like she had just been on holiday, she had blue eyes, my dad used to tell me that it was her eyes that he first fell in love with even before he spoke to her. She was tall and slender, she was hot" Melinda said with a chuckle.

"My dad was really handsome; he looked kinda like an older version of Christopher. Every Friday night we would go out to dinner then come home and sit and watch a movie together, my mom did some modelling so she was all in tune with fashion and we spent hours shopping together, my dad hated it so he would always go and hang out with his buddies from work while we raided the mall. I think that's why it hurt so much when they died, we were a perfect family, we didn't argue often and if we ever did then one of us would feel so bad about it that we'd just end up apologising anyway. They were wonderful parents, they took care of me and loved me, we were like best friends. I remember the first time I brought a boy home..." Jim stiffened next to Melinda and she giggled "relax Clancy, it was a disaster, my dad asked Tom what his future goals were-all the usual inquisition questions, when we were about to go upstairs he turned around and said 'nice to meet you sir, oh, and don't worry I have protection' the guy pulled a condom out of his pocket and held it up before heading towards the stairs. My dad went psycho, you can imagine how well that ended" Melinda said smiling fondly at the memory.

"When Tom drove off my dad and I just burst out laughing, I wasn't mad at my dad at all, quite the opposite actually, I don't know what I would have done if we had actually made it to the bedroom, I totally would have freaked out because I was like _so_ not ready for that" she added with a laugh. Jim's eyebrows raised in shock "how old were you?" he asked "it was only last year, I was fifteen, he was seventeen, Tom was the captain of the football team and I got voted head cheerleader, that made me his bunny" she explained, "bunny?" Jim asked looking as if she had spoken a different language, "bunnies are cheerleaders who are assigned to a member of the football team, I used to be bunny for this freshman called Chad but when I made head cheer I was automatically bunny for head player" she said. "What exactly do these bunnies do?" Jim asked curiously, Melinda cringed "you have a special cheer for your player, you make all public appearances like games, photo shoots and parties together, the night before a game you go to dinner with your player and then most stay over with them, the next morning you give them their wake up call, give them a gift and help them get ready. You're kind of like a pet I guess but they treat you like royalty and a lot of perks come with the job, I know it sounds a little-" "sexual?" Jim asked.

Melinda nodded "it kind of is I guess, a lot of the senior bunnies have sex with their player the night before a game, it supposedly helps them play better, but I was too young for that anyway. I loved being a cheerleader, it was like a social status pass, because I was already one in middle school I was automatically part of that crowd when I got to high school, Most of my friends were a lot older than me" she said, Jim mulled over this information for a minute "you were _that_ girl" he concluded. "What girl?" Melinda asked, Jim scrunched up his nose "the one that every guy wants to be with and every girl wants to be, the girl that I was totally head over heels for all through school but never even knew I existed" he said with a frown. Melinda giggled and climbed onto Jim's lap "well, I'm _your_ bunny now" she said in his ear before kissing her way up his neck, Jim made a move to kiss her back and she pulled away with a devilish grin "we better get to sleep" she said, Jim groaned and lay back and Melinda leaned forward until she was laying on top of him, she shivered and Jim pulled the covers over both of them "sleep well baby" he whispered to her, Melinda smiled and kissed his chest "you too Jim, thank you for listening" she whispered back, Jim wrapped his arms around her and traced tiny circles on the soft skin of her lower back with his fingers "always" he replied, the word floated through Melinda's mind as she drifted into a surprisingly peaceful sleep.

Please Review if you liked it..._please?_ xx have a niiiice day everyone xx Lolly xx


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

We're all going on a...camping holiday oooooh! YAY...Enjoy xx Lolly xx

Melinda was woken at 5:00am by Jim's alarm "uughh" she groaned and rolled off of Jim, who hadn't even stirred, she padded to his bathroom and brushed her teeth glancing at the mirror she smiled at her reflection, still in her underwear she looked as though she had just rolled out of bed after a less _innocent _night with Jim "it's nice to see you smile" she said to her reflection, "it's a perfect day, nothing standing in my way..." Melinda sang quietly as she twirled around Jim's bathroom brushing her hair, she hadn't sung in so long that it was almost a surprise to hear her own voice that way, "such a perfect day, nothing can go wrong" Melinda giggled and spun around on the ball of her foot, she gasped as she caught sight of Jim watching her from the doorway, Melinda lost her footing and fell towards the ground squeezing her eyes shut and bracing herself for the impact...but it never came. Melinda opened her eyes and found her face inches away from Jims "morning" he whispered setting her upright "uh..m..morning" she stammered in surprise, "I didn't know you could sing" he said smugly, Melinda blushed scarlet "I didn't know you were standing there" she countered trying to calm her racing heart, Jim smiled "well, I'm glad I was" he said walking over to the sink. "This is a nice way to wake up" he said still with a slightly smug smile, "what do you mean?" Melinda asked, he smiled "I mean...I like waking up knowing that you're here and I like coming to brush my teeth and finding my girlfriend doing ballet all around my bathroom in her underwear, it sure as hell beats waking up alone and going to school" he said with a chuckle, Melinda, still with burning cheeks, gave him an embarrassed smile. "I'll lock the door next time" she said, "you're gonna lock me out of my own bathroom so you can dance in it?" he joked, Melinda laughed "I might" she replied.

"I'm gonna go jump in the shower" Melinda said, she kissed Jim on the cheek since he still had his toothbrush in his mouth then headed out the door, just as Jim turned back to the sink Melinda popped her head back around the door "just so you know, I like waking up like this too" she said before padding over to her own bedroom and praying that no one had decided to come upstairs to wake them up and would catch her sneaking around half naked. Melinda climbed into her shower with a smile and hummed the whole time, once she was out she dressed in a powder blue lacy camisole and a pair of short black cotton shorts with 'Hollister' across the back in the same blue as her top, Melinda pulled on a pair of blue and black plaid hi-top Chuck Taylors and grabbed a blue leather Chanel handbag from her closet. Melinda was sitting at her dresser drying her hair when there was a knock at the door "come in Jim" she said "It's Christopher" came the reply, Melinda's eyes widened "oh, uh, still come in" she said with a chuckle, Christopher came in and stood in the doorway as if nervous "you can sit down" Melinda encouraged kindly, Christopher came in and sat on the end of the bed, Melinda's good mood seemed to relax him, "just wanted to make sure you were getting ready and I was wondering if you want me to keep your meds for you, you can take them yourself if you want but I just thought that since I have all of the other-" Melinda smiled "thank you" she said sweetly.

"You nervous about going home?" he asked resting the bag of medicine on the bed, Melinda shook her head "are you?" she asked, "a little, it's the first time they're gonna see you since you've been with us and they're bound to make mental notes on your progress, I wanna make a good impression" he confided, Melinda smiled and sat next to him "you have nothing to worry about, Nobody's gonna criticize you, when I was living with them I was a different person, I didn't smile or talk, I didn't eat and I hardly ever slept for more than three hours. I think they'll just be happy to know that I'm safe. You're a wonderful parent...that's what you are, you know that right? No matter what the paper work says you aren't just a legal guardian...you're a father" Melinda said honestly, Christopher grinned widely and carefully pulled Melinda into his arms "I'm glad we found you" he whispered "me too" she replied softly. "Is it too early in the morning to take these?" Melinda asked picking up the medicine bag, Christopher shook his head "whenever you're ready" he said, Melinda grabbed a bottle of juice from her nightstand and took her pills one by one, she gagged on the last mouthful which caused her to splutter a little but luckily she missed her clothes. "You okay?" Christopher asked, Melinda nodded and wiped her eyes which had watered a little, there was a knock at the door followed by Jim's smooth voice "can I come in baby?", Melinda opened her mouth to answer but Christopher put his hand out to stop her "sure you can..._baby_" he called out, Jim opened the door looking thoroughly embarrassed and Christopher chuckled at his red cheeks. "Oh, sorry, were you not talking to me?" Christopher asked in mock innocence, Jim threw him a sarcastic smile and pulled Melinda up from the bed before kissing her passionately, "I _so_ do not need to see that" Christopher said with a wrinkled nose, Jim chuckled and kissed Melinda again before looking back at Christopher "don't dish it out if you can't take it my man" he said, Christopher laughed "well, I'm glad you're both ready, be down in five okay" he said before heading downstairs. Melinda pushed Jim onto her bed and climbed up after him "just so you know, I haven't forgotten that you owe me a favour...don't be fooled into thinking that I won't cash it in. I just haven't decided what I want you to do for me yet, so many choices" she said seductively, Jim raised his eyebrows "what's got the bunny in such a good mood?" he joked with a smile, Melinda pressed kisses down his neck and smile "the bunny got a new player" she whispered, Jim smiled "where?" he asked looking around in mock confusion, Melinda slapped his shoulder and gave him a sarcastic frown. Melinda kissed Jim deeply and he wrapped his arms around her small waist.

"Can I ask you something?" Melinda asked after a minute, she was now sitting on Jim's lap with her head resting against his chest "anything" Jim answered, Melinda smiled "I'm going to see Lisa tonight, Olivia and Christopher are coming too...will you come? I mean you don't have to...it's not like meeting the parents or anything I just-" Jim kissed Melinda to stop her nervous rambling and smiled against her lips "I'd love to" he said honestly, Melinda smiled "thanks, we better go" she said as they heard squeals of excitement coming from downstairs. "Hey I have a question" Melinda said as they walked down the stairs, "go ahead" Jim encouraged, "when Lisa brought me here she said that the Jenners had five kids, where's number five?" she asked curiously, "you already met him actually, It's John. When he started University he moved into a dorm, that's why he knows Livvy and Chris so well, they looked after him from the time he was thirteen. He still spends most weekends here with Alexis" Jim said, Melinda smiled "is this a guardianship or a dating service?" Melinda asked rhetorically in a sarcastic tone. Jim stopped on the landing and turned to her, "I think that...when you've been through something like any one of us has it can be hard to find people to relate to, you feel like nobody understands you. With this setup you know that in some way or another you all have something profound in common, it makes the bonds between us as a family even stronger than blood" he replied with an intense look on his face, Melinda reached up and cupped his cheek "you have a beautiful mind...and I feel blessed to be getting to know you. I want you to know that I'm here for you too, whenever you have one of those days where you feel like you can't cope, or you feel like no one understands...tell me. Tell me and I'll do everything that I possibly can to make you feel even a little better" she said sweetly. Jim smiled and kissed her softly before pulling her into a warm embrace "ew! You guys are to gross for this early in the morning, you're gonna make me barf before I even eat breakfast" Holly complained with a face that said 'yuck!'. Jim and Melinda laughed and headed downstairs together, "MORNING" Alexis yelled bouncing up to them, they replied with a much normal volume and smiles "we're leaving in five!" Christopher announced as he separated bags of snacks for each car with thermo-cups of coffee and hot-chocolate.

Olivia bounced out of hers and Chris' bedroom in a short orange summer dress with short lacy black leggings "hello my lovelies!" she sang cheerfully causing everyone to smile, John came in the front door with Mitch "our cars are done" Mitch announced. Jim gratefully took the bag of snacks and drinks from Christopher and headed out to the garage to put it in Melinda's car, Christopher had written an address on several cards which he handed out to one person from each pair "as soon as you get in your car I want you to type that into your SatNav, it's a nice little diner where we'll be stopping for lunch, feel free to stop before then wherever you want to switch drivers or use a bathroom or whatever, whoever gets there first sends a text to the rest of the family. We'll have lunch and I'll give you the next address, any questions?" he asked, everyone shook their heads eager to set out. "You all got your licences?" he checked, everyone nodded, Alexis was literally bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet while John watched her in amusement, Holly was bouncing a small rubber ball off of Jim's back and giggling like a baby every time he spun around and threw her a mock glare, Mitch was next to Melinda and tickling the back of her neck with a few strands of her own hair which was making her snicker with the effort to keep herself from laughing out loud. "I can see you're all ready to go so...any problems, you have my number, I guess I'll see you at lunch" he said before holding his hands up as if to say 'that's all I got', everyone cheered and went out to their respective cars, Melinda led Jim to her car and threw him a smile while the doors slid upwards, they climbed in and Melinda pulled the front of Jim's black tank top and kissed him hungrily before revving the engine and pulling out after Holly and Mitch, Alexis and John were behind them and Olivia and Christopher were up front.

"My mom had jet-black hair" Jim said distantly as he watched out the window, Melinda threw him an encouraging glance and smiled "it always smelled like flowers, it was dead straight and she had her bangs cut kinda like yours, a little longer, she wasn't much taller than Olivia and just as slim, she always complained that even with heels she was tiny, that was my dad's nickname for her...'my tiny'" Jim sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair letting the front fall over his eyes before sweeping the soft strands out of his face.

"She had pale skin and you could tell within seconds if she was embarrassed because she would blush so bad, she had the most _awful_ singing voice" he said with a chuckle which made Melinda smile "but she didn't care, she was always singing something...she would just walk around the house rocking out to the radio. My dad would just watch her...and he didn't look pissed or tired of hearing it, he would just smile and you could see that he loved her so much, he would listen to that awful singing and it was like he was hearing something different to everyone else, like he was he was hearing the most beautiful music in the world. I used to just roll my eyes and think '_when will she stop?!' _now I wish more than anything that I could hear that just one more time. My dad was away a lot of the time working on different plays and stuff, he used to call my mom every night if he could and they would talk until one of them was ready to fall asleep..." Jim trailed off remembering the happier times. "They sound wonderful, it's not fair that they were taken away from you...it's like out of all the people in the world, why them?" Melinda said, Jim nodded "it gets a little easier over time, I know right now for you everything is still fresh, but eventually you'll be able to look back not cry every time, you'll be able to see all the good things that they gave you as well as everything you lost" he said. Melinda threw him a smile and he kissed her hand.

Love Y'all! You only get today once...Make it count x Have a good one xx Lolly xx


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

Sorry it took so long!!!!! Things are a little crazy right now but I'll update as soon as I can, Love y'all, hope you're all making the best of summer break! Xx Lolly xX

4 hours later Christopher and Olivia had been split up from Holly and Mitch when they stopped to switch drivers, "they'll be fine honey, they have the TomTom" Christopher said to Olivia who had been a little worried about them driving without a lead for so long. "I guess, do you think the others are alright?" she asked, Christopher chuckled "they're all fine baby, they're smart kids" he comforted, Olivia still looked a little ill at ease "but Melinda..." "-has Jim" Christopher cut her off, Olivia smiled "smart ass" she mumbled "well, I do try" Christopher said with a dazzling smile. "Did she take her medicine?" Olivia asked, "not even a complaint" Christopher said happily, "I'm kinda nervous about taking her back to California, what if she freaks out when she sees the social worker?" she asked nervously, "honey you need to calm down, Melinda's made a lot of progress this week, I think they'll just be happy to see that she's alive and well" he comforted, Olivia smiled "someone's been studying the best husband handbook" she said, Christopher leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Melinda glanced over in Jim's direction, he had fallen asleep an hour into the journey and was still sleeping peacefully at 11:30am, they were coming just about to come off the highway into the town where they were meeting up for lunch, they had passed Holly and Mitch when they stopped to change places and were now only a couple of cars behind Olivia and Christopher. As they stopped at a traffic signal Melinda took the opportunity to grab Jim's jacket off of the backseat and drape it over him like he had done for her before, she smiled as he snuggled down into it and sighed. Melinda had come so far since she had been with the Jenner's, it seemed as though her life had regained some sense of direction, she wasn't as lost as she had been for so long, Melinda giggled when her stomach growled loudly "someone needs refuelling" she muttered, with the radio on low and her window wound down Melinda sighed as she took in the beauty of the coastline that they were approaching. The glistening sea was visible in the distance and she couldn't wait to get to the camping ground as it was near a beach.

Two hours later Melinda was pulling into 'Sam's Diner', she found Olivia and Christopher's car and parked next to it, she smiled down at Jim, carefully and quietly she climbed over to his side and straddled his lap lightly without waking him, "Jim" she whispered. Jim gave a heavy sigh and turned his face the other way "Jim, wake up" she said a little louder, his eyes fluttered open and widened when they settled on Melinda "I sincerely hope this car's not still moving" he joked, Melinda smiled and kissed his lips "sleep well?" she asked, Jim nodded and yawned at the same time before looking around in surprise at their surroundings "we're at the lunch stop already? What's the time?" he asked, Melinda glanced back at the clock on the dashboard "1:30" she told him. "I slept for six hours?" he asked, Melinda nodded "you aren't very good company for a road trip" she said with a half-frown, Jim grimaced and apologised "I guess I'm just not used to getting up so damn early" he said, Melinda smiled and climbed off of his lap "I wish I could say the same" she said before jumping out of the car, Jim climbed out and stretched his hands above his head giving Melinda the perfect opportunity to poke his stomach then tickle his sides, Jim grabbed her wrists and spun her around before picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

Melinda let out a squeal of delight as Jim tickled her sides relentlessly while carrying her into the diner, as they walked past the tables people either looked at them happily or as if to say 'here we go again, stupid teens', Jim found Olivia and Christopher at the biggest table in the building, it had a bench on either side and then four high-stools pulled up on the outside. As the beautiful sound of Melinda's laughed neared them, both Christopher and Olivia looked up in surprise, Melinda didn't notice as hanging over Jim's shoulder meant that all she could see was his back and his butt, Jim gave them a wide smile and Olivia placed a hand over her heart to say she was truly touched by the sound, Jim tickled Melinda's side again and she giggled loudly like a little kid, Christopher chuckled and Melinda felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she realised that they were right next to them.

Jim pulled her down into his arms then let her jump to the floor "how do you find the drive?" Olivia asked, Melinda raised an eyebrow at Jim "_I_ enjoyed the drive just fine thanks, I pretty much had the radio as my only companion for the past six hours" she said with a mock glare at Jim. "I said I was sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night" he told them, Melinda turned "how come?...we went to bed on time" she said, Jim smiled "Uh..I may have...I mean I kind of...watched you sleep...for like three hours" he admitted sheepishly, Christopher sniggered and both Melinda and Olivia shot him death glares. "What? I just think it's a little sappy, that's all" he said, Olivia slapped his arm "shut up Chris, that's the sweetest thing!...Why don't you talk to me the way Jim talks to Melinda?" she asked with one eyebrow raised and her lips pursed, Jim stuck his tongue out at Chris who was staring incredulously at his wife "You're making me look bad son" he complained, Melinda smiled and kissed Jim's shoulder where her head was resting "you awake enough to take over the driving?" she asked, Jim nodded "as soon as I get something to eat. I'm starving! Can we order before the others get here?" he asked, Olivia rolled her eyes "if you must" she said.

They gave the waitress their orders and chatted while they waited "so, we should get to the hotel between 7:00pm and 8:00pm depending on traffic, you'll have time to change and stuff and then we'll head over to Lisa's office, we'll have a quick chat with her and then leave you guys alone for a while" Christopher said, Melinda nodded and felt her stomach tighten with nerves, she rested her head on folded arms on the table and thought about the first time she had ever met Lisa

-_**Melinda's bruised eyelids fluttered open and she looked around her hospital room, today was different, today she was not alone, a tall, blonde, slim and beautiful woman was standing nervously in the doorway to her room, she let her eyes roam over the woman- briefcase, suit, clipboard...social worker. Melinda rolled her eyes and looked away when the woman asked nicely "how are you feeling?" "Um....I...my names Lisa James, I'm a social worker, I was assigned to your case a week ago before you woke up...I'm going to be making sure you're okay" she said sweetly. Melinda didn't want her, she wanted my mom and dad, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath, "can I ask you a few questions?" Lisa asked, Melinda kept her eyes shut and intentionally ignored the woman, "Melinda I understand that you're hurting and I know that you've lost everything so suddenly...but I want to be here for you. Nobody should have to go through this alone. I'll come back soon sweetheart" she said, Melinda's eyes opened as the woman stood to leave, she threw her hand out and grabbed the woman's wrist giving it a gentle tug to ask her to sit back down, the woman smiled softly and held Melinda's hand, for hours she just sat beside Melinda talking about herself and her work, Melinda was grateful for the company and eventually fell asleep to the sound of Lisa's gentle voice-**_

Melinda discretely wiped a tear from her eye and stood up "bathroom" she mumbled before quickly walking from the table and heading around the corner to the bathroom, she spotted the back exit to the diner and headed outside instead, pulling her cell phone out she dialled a number that she had come to know off by heart, it rang a few times before the familiar voice came through "Melinda! I'm so happy to hear from you, I can't wait to see you this evening" came Lisa's cheerful voice, the same voice that had been there for her whenever she needed it since her world had changed, Melinda bit her lip and decided not to speak to avoid bursting into tears "sweetheart, whatever's wrong with you I want you to know that I'm here honey, I always will be" Lisa said sincerely, "you always have been" Melinda replied quietly unable to stop the tears which flowed freely down her cheeks, she sat on a wall and ran her hand through her hair "I just wanted to hear your voice" Melinda said quietly "well it's wonderful to hear yours honey, I want you to call whenever you feel like it, no matter what the hour" she said. Melinda smiled "thanks, I better go, I told them I was going to the bathroom" Melinda said with a small laugh "I'll see you later darling" Lisa said, Melinda said goodbye and hung up. The sun was blazing and her hair blew lightly in the breeze, she took a deep breath and smiled at the beautiful scenery.

Jim was on his way to the bathroom when he spotted Melinda sitting on the outside wall with her back to him, he smiled as he watched her hair get lifted off her shoulders by the wind, he headed outside and sat on the wall beside her, Melinda's head whipped around and her eyes widened, she made a move to wipe the tears from her face quickly in embarrassment but Jim grabbed her wrist "don't" he whispered, he pulled Melinda onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist, they sat in silence watching the sun cause the sea to glitter brightly, Jim kissed Melinda's neck as he felt a tear drop onto his arm "I'm here" he whispered, Melinda leaned her head back on Jim's shoulder "I remember waking up, I opened my eyes and no one was there...everything hurt, the doctors rushed in and started yelling things that I didn't understand, I tried to speak but I had this tube down my throat, they made me cough and they pulled it out, I remember calling out for my mom over and over, I would ask everyone who came in why she wasn't there, nobody would tell me. I remembered bits and pieces every now and then but I just couldn't bring myself to piece it together...I refused to speak to anyone, I was afraid of getting hurt. Lisa was the first person I felt like I could trust, she told me everything exactly the way it was and was always there for me. I've really missed her" she said quietly. Jim nodded and tightened his arms around her "I could never replace what you had with her, or what you had with your parents, but I want you to lean on me, when you're hurting and you need someone to be there, don't sit outside and cry alone, let me hold you...I'll listen to whatever you have to say and I'll do anything within my power to help, please...let me be the one you turn to" Jim whispered, Melinda turned in his arms and gazed into his eyes with tears flowing from her own "I promise" she replied kissing him softly.

Jim wiped the tears from her face and kissed each cheek where they had been then rubbed his nose with hers causing Melinda to giggle, "let's go inside" Jim said, Melinda jumped off his lap and held his hand when they walked back, Olivia and Christopher just smiled and Melinda was grateful that they didn't ask what had happened. "I see Lexy" Christopher announced, they turned around to see Alexis and John walking through the diner "HEY!" Alexis squeaked before running over to then and launching herself into a seat next to Christopher "you'll never believe...dumbo here slept the whole way!" she exclaimed pointing at John, Melinda giggled and motioned to Jim "him too, I had to wake him up in the parking lot" she said, Alexis laughed and ordered her food just as Holly and Mitch came through the diner door, they sat down at the table and chatted about the journey so far while they waited for their food. Everyone ate happily before Christopher handed them all address cards for the hotel they would be staying at "Olivia and I are gonna head off, take as long a break as you want but text me when you're back on the road" he said while pulling his jacket on, everyone said goodbye and Melinda and Jim decided to leave at the same time.

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	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE AWESOME REVIEWS, YOU GUYS ARE GREAT XX LOLLY XX

The rating of this story has been changed from T to M for future content.

The four of them walked out to the car park together and said their goodbyes before heading back to their cars, "I can't wait to get there, do you think we'll have a chance to go to the beach?" Melinda asked, Jim nodded as they climbed into her car "I think we'll be at the beach every day, there's one not far from the camping ground" Jim told her, Melinda smiled "I know, I used to camp there with my dad, there's a pretty good surf down that way" she told him. Jim raised his eyebrows in surprise "you can surf? I tried to stand up on a surf board and I swear to god the thing was like a death-trap" he joked, Melinda giggled "I'll teach you if you'd like" she offered kindly, "I'd like that" Jim said softly as he pulled out of the parking lot, Melinda sat back in her seat and rummaged through the bag of snacks that Christopher had packed for them, she found a large flat and round lollypop with lots of different colors twisted into it, "like anyone could fit _that_ in their mouth" she said disbelievingly, Jim sniggered at the innuendo and she rolled her eyes "guys are so immature" she muttered while unwrapping it, Jim shot her his lopsided grin which made her heart stop beating and her stomach flip pleasantly, "breath Melinda....in and out, in and out...it's quite simple really" he said mockingly, Melinda focused on steadying her heartbeat and sat back in her chair with her giant lolly.

"Who was your last girlfriend?" Melinda asked out of the blue a couple of hours later, Jim raised an eyebrow "is that a trick question?" he asked, Melinda raised an eyebrow to match his expression "is that a trick answer?" she retorted quickly, Jim chuckled "her name was Amy, she was literally the girl next door, we grew up together. I asked her out Freshman year and we dated for a couple of years before breaking up last year" he explained, Melinda looked down "did you love her?" she asked quietly, Jim nodded "I guess I did at the time, but we were pretty young still, it was a high school romance" he assured her, Melinda mulled it over in her head and tried to resist the burning feeling that was spreading through her chest –_what if he could never love me the way he loved her? How can I compare to his best childhood friend?-_ Melinda bit her lip "did you guys-I mean did you...um...you know what, never mind" Melinda rambled nervously slumping back into her seat "we never had sex" Jim said simply, Melinda blushed crimson with embarrassment "you didn't have to tell me, I was just...I guess I'm just curious" Melinda admitted.

Jim smiled "don't be embarrassed, you can ask me whatever you want, I'll always be honest with you, promise" he said sincerely, Melinda smiled "me too" she said quietly, "can I ask _you_ a question?" Jim asked, Melinda knew exactly what he wanted to know and decided it best to just tell him instead of making him ask "before what happened, I had never done it either" she said with her head down, Jim nodded "if there's ever a question you don't want to answer, I'll understand" he said sweetly, Melinda smiled "I'll always try" she said quietly "who was your first kiss?" she asked, Jim groaned "this is an embarrassing story, I was thirteen and kinda nerdy looking, I was in middle school and all of the guys were talking about their girlfriends, I was too shy to even talk to any of the girls in my class, one day at a friend's fourteenth birthday he decided we should play '7 minutes in heaven'. I got picked to go in with this girl called Courtney who I had a huge crush on. We headed to the closet and I had no idea what to do, she told me to kiss her and I did, after less than a minute she ran out of the room crying and I didn't find out until the next day that I...bit her lip. I thought I was gonna die of embarrassment, she never spoke to me again, I think I traumatised the poor kid" he said with a grimace, Melinda tried to be sensitive but couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. "You're cruel" Jim said with narrowed eyes, "I'm sorry" Melinda said between laughs, "how was yours?" Jim asked, Melinda stopped laughing and gave him a wicked grin "it wasn't with a boy" she said seductively, Jim's eyes bugged out and Melinda giggled "I'm kidding you pervert" she said with a laugh, Jim rolled his eyes "I was thirteen and head of the junior high cheerleading squad, we had just won a game and my boyfriend Danny kissed me on the soccer pitch in front of everyone, the whole team and the pep rally cheered for us, a week later we went to our junior prom and were crowned king and queen, I'll show you the pictures when we get home. I still have my crown" she told him. "I can't believe a science geek like me is going out with a cheerleading prom-queen bunny-girl, there's something I would never have thought" he said with a happy smile. "Ew, you like science?" Melinda asked with a scrunched up nose, she laughed when his face fell because he thought she was being serious and "I'm kidding baby, I think it's great that you're so smart" she said playing with his messy hair. She sat back in her seat and after a few minutes of staring out the window found herself falling into a deep sleep.

"Baby...Mel, wake up, we're here" Jim called to Melinda kissing her neck, Melinda opened her eyes and smiled "we're in California?" she asked sleepily, Jim nodded and kissed her head "we just passed the sign, we're at the hotel" he said softly, Melinda looked around and found that they were just driving into a large parking lot entrance right in front of the large revolving door of the hotel "we gotta get out for valet" Jim told her as he stopped the car. The two of them climbed out of the car and Jim opened the trunk of her car with a button on the dashboard, three valet attendants greeted them , one took the car keys and the other two lifted the suitcases and bags out of the trunk and led Melinda and Jim into the lobby, they headed to the desk and Jim gave Christopher's name as they were all booked by him, the woman behind the desk smiled happily "room 238, here's your key, enjoy your stay at the Beverly Hilton" she chirped happily, they thanked her and headed to the elevator. "So you lived here?...in Beverly Hills?" Jim asked in awe, Melinda nodded "I grew up near the west Olympic boulevard, when I was thirteen we moved to Calabasas, just near Roscoe Boulevard, I stayed in the same school though because we only moved like ten minutes drive away.

Jim stared at her in shock "so you're like...really _from_ Beverly Hills, how did you end up in New York?" he asked curiously, Melinda smiled "Christopher was here filming, he came to visit Olive Crest, I didn't see him but I guess he saw me in the book, the next day Lisa asked me how I would feel about moving in with you guys...I actually said no, but I guess she wasn't really giving me an option she was just asking out of courtesy. They helped me pack up all my stuff, they told me all about you guys and then...that was it. I didn't wanna leave, I was finally getting my life settled, now I feel scared to settle in here because how do I know that someone won't change their mind? I'd have to go through that all over again, I feel like I don't get a vote in my own life" she said sadly. Jim smiled and put his arm around her shoulder "I think you're gonna be here for a very long time Hills" he joked, Melinda smiled and took his hand as they walked through the hallway "I hope so" Melinda whispered, they reached their door and Jim's jaw went slack when he opened it "woah" he whispered, Melinda smiled "wait until you see this" she said taking the key card from him, she ran across the room and round a small mini-bar, she typed in the number on the card and opened it to reveal bottle after bottle of alcohol, "we're not 21" Jim said confusedly, Melinda shot him a wicked grin "it's under Christopher's name, but I can pay for it so he won't know, she rummaged in her purse for her credit card and swiped the gold plastic down the side of the mini-bar where there were payment details and the long slit for credit cards.

Jim raised an eyebrow and watched as Melinda pulled various bottles of alcohol from the cabinet and places them on the counter above, she climbed up on a kitchenette counter and opened the cupboard over the mini-bar and pulled down a cocktail mixer and two glasses "someone's been here before" Jim commented as Melinda seemed to know where everything was "I used to spend the first weekend of every month here with my friends, our mom's took turns to book it under their names and then they would all stay on a separate floor and hang out in the spa for the weekend" Melinda explained. Jim watched in surprise as she mixed Jagermeister, Goldshlager and Bacardi 151, she poured them all into a cocktail mixer with ice and shook it, Jim lay on the bed on his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows so he could watch her, Melinda poured the drinks into low ball glasses and handed him one "you sure about this?" he asked. Melinda shot him a wicked grin "I may be quiet but I'm no angel" she said seductively before taking a long sip of her drink and blowing him a kiss, Jim did the same and was surprised at the nice taste "it's called liquid cocaine" Melinda told him proudly, "well...I'm hooked" Jim said as he finished his drink, Melinda smiled and packed everything back into the cabinet, just then there was a knock on the door and Jim opened it to find Olivia "hey guys, everyone's here now, can you be ready to leave in half an hour? She asked, Jim and Melinda nodded and waved as she left.

"I'm nervous" Melinda told him as he wrapped his arms around her, "I know honey, me too, but you know what?...that's okay. There's nothing to worry about" he assured her, Melinda smiled and headed to her suitcase, she changed into a cream lacy camisole vest and a short denim pleated skirt, she pulled on a pair of gold ballet flats and found her small gold clutch purse, "you look beautiful" Jim whispered in her ear, Melinda jumped in surprise and spun around, "thank you" she whispered breathlessly, Jim wrapped his arms around her and kissed the crook of her neck softly, "you look gorgeous" Melinda said as she ran her hands down the front of Jim's black button down shirt which he was wearing over a pair of gray jeans. They walked out together and knocked on the door next to theirs where Olivia and Christopher were staying, Olivia opened it and came out wearing a smart long blue shirt with a black waist belt, she had on black skinny jeans and patent leather blue stilettos. "You ready?" she asked, Melinda nodded and smiled when Christopher came out to meet them, he was wearing a royal blue shirt over black jeans.

"We'll take two cars so Melinda can stay as long as she wants, let's go" Christopher said with a smile, they walked out together and headed down to the large reception where valet was called to collect the keys from the desk and bring the cars around, Melinda waited nervously at Jim's side and could feel her heart pounding beneath her chest, the attendant handed her the keys and she didn't move for a second "Melinda?" Jim asked, "could you uh...could you drive please?" she asked, Jim nodded and kissed her softly "you'll be fine" he told her comfortingly.

Love to all x


	22. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

LOVE You AAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

Melinda climbed into the passenger seat of her car and directed Jim throughout the five minute drive to Lisa's office, they parked around back and nervously walked into the glass walled reception, "Melinda honey! It's so good to see you sweetheart!" the chubby receptionist squealed, Melinda gave her a happy smile and walked around the reception desk to hug her "you here to see Lisa?" she asked "yeah" Melinda said quietly, "go ahead then honey, she's in her office, nice to meet you guys" she said to the others, they all smiled and Melinda led them up in the elevator and through a network of hall ways until they came to an open office area where different people's sections were separated by low gray screens, "Melinda Gordon?!" one of the guys yelled, Lisa's head snapped up and she stood up at the back of the room, Melinda stared into her teary eyes and for a moment they just stood staring at each other intensely across the room while everyone collectively held their breath. Melinda slowly let go of Jim's hand before sprinting across the room into Lisa's waiting arms, she wrapped her arms as tightly around Lisa's neck as she could without hurting her and buried her face in her soft hair.

"I missed you" Melinda whispered through her tears, Lisa let out a small sob and kissed Melinda's cheek "I missed you too baby girl" she whispered back, they stayed like that for over five minutes while everyone watched with tears in their eyes, eventually Jim, Olivia and Christopher came over "I'm sorry" Lisa said quickly wiping the tears from her face and smiling "don't apologize, we know how you feel, Melinda's special" Christopher said with a smile. Lisa nodded and didn't bother to wipe the tears that were still falling quickly, "we aren't meant to have favourites, but there's always gotta be that one girl who you fall in love with" she said smiling down at Melinda, "love you too" Melinda whispered. Within seconds Olivia had more tears falling down her cheeks too and Jim held her free hand while Christopher held the other one "and who might this young man be?" Lisa asked, Jim held out his hand to shake "Jim Clancy" he said politely she smiled and shook it "let's go up to the guest room" Lisa suggested, Melinda nodded and walked with her hand Lisa's ahead of the others. Jim smiled at Melinda's happiness and watched as she gazed up at Lisa the whole time they were walking, they eventually got to a large room with a few couches and chairs arranged around it and sat down. "You're doing okay?" she asked Olivia and Christopher, "more than, it's been wonderful having Melinda around, not just for us" he added with a pointed look at Jim, Lisa's eyes widened "oh, wait, are you two...?" she asked, Melinda and Jim smiled at each other and nodded "oh that's so wonderful!" she squealed, Jim chuckled and Melinda threw him a smile, he was sitting opposite her.

"So, I see you all signed the papers, they were faxed to my office last night, which means everyone's happy?" she asked hopefully, Olivia and Christopher nodded and Lisa looked at Melinda "I am, it already feels like home" she said quietly, "I feel like I have a family" she whispered sincerely. "I'm happy for you honey, I see that your vocal chords are being put to use, it's wonderful to hear your voice" she said with a smile, Olivia nodded "isn't it just? It took a while, but Melinda's voice is being heard more and more these days, we even heard her laugh today...it was the most beautiful sound" she said lovingly as she beamed at Melinda. "You guys are going camping?" Lisa asked Melinda who nodded, "have you ever been before?" she asked "my dad used to take me every summer, same park we're going to tomorrow, it's right near the beach. I told Jim I'd teach him to surf" she said with a smile, Lisa was happily shocked at Melinda's comfortable attitude and smiled warmly "that should be fun. How are you getting on with the other kids?" she asked, Melinda smiled "great, Alexis is a total tomboy and I helped her get dressed for dinner the other night and she hugged me, I didn't even flinch. Oh, and Holly is awesome, she's only 15 but she's way taller than me and totally gorgeous, she laughs at everything. Mitch is like the big brother I never had, he got this really cool tattoo the other day but it was like too big and he got in trouble...it looks good though...and Jim...Jim's my best friend, he's amazing to me" she said happily, Lisa smiled "I'm glad that you're getting along with everyone, I was worried that you'd be uncomfortable with such a big family" she said. "Everyone's really happy to have Melinda with us, she fits into the family so well, she's enrolling in school next Wednesday" Olivia said proudly, "you're going to school? That's amazing" Lisa said happily, she had assumed that Melinda would want to stay in homeschooling.

They sat for another half an hour chatting about Melinda and her new life before Olivia announced that they would leave, Lisa shook their hands as they left and Jim lingered back to say goodbye to Melinda, "you okay to drive back?" he asked, Melinda nodded "I'll be there soon, thanks" she said with a smile, Jim kissed her softly and squeezed her hand "you want me to draw you a bath?" he asked, Melinda smiled "you're too good to me" she said, Jim gave her a hug "one condition...you're in it when I get back" Melinda whispered so quietly that only Jim would here, he kissed her cheek and waved goodbye to Lisa. "Well well well, I see what's got you smiling!" Lisa joked with a knowing smile, Melinda giggled and rolled her eyes "isn't he gorgeous?" she asked dreamily, "total hottie!" Lisa squealed, they went back downstairs to get drinks and say hello to everyone else that Melinda knew, after a little while Melinda decided to head back "I better go, Jim will be waiting" Melinda said.

"You'll stop by again on your way back?" Lisa asked hopefully, Melinda nodded "definitely, I'd like you to see a little more of Jim too. If I leave a little early, do you think we could spend the day together on Saturday?" she asked hopefully, Lisa's face lit up "really?! That would be so great, oh! I have just had the BEST idea ever...it's a surprise, make sure that the Jenner's are okay with it though" she said, Melinda nodded "they'll be happy that I'm happy" she said with a smile. "I'll see you in a week baby girl" Lisa said as she hugged Melinda, "I love you" Melinda whispered "I love you too honey" Lisa whispered back, Melinda bounced out with a smile and waved before stepping into the elevator.

Melinda drove back to the hotel with a smile on her face and joy in her heart, she was soon handing her keys over to valet and heading back to the hotel room to meet Jim. "Melinda!" Holly squealed as she bolted around the corner of the hallway, Melinda jumped and stared at her in shock "sorry, didn't mean to scare you" holly slurred with a giggle, Melinda laughed "someone cracked the mini-bar!" she said with a knowing smile, Holly's eyes widened "oh my God, how did you figure it out? You can't tell anyone!" she pleaded, Melinda smiled "I mixed Jim a cocktail the second we got through the door" she whispered sneakily, Holly giggled "how did the thing with Lisa go?" she asked sitting down in the hallway, Melinda sat down next to her "it was amazing, I've missed her so much. I can't wait to get to the beach, it will only take us a few hours to get to the site tomorrow" she told Holly with a smile, "ooooh! This is gonna be awesome!" she squeaked. Melinda chuckled at her enthusiasm "you're drunk. Listen to me Holly, you've had enough to drink, go and have a huge glass of water and take a walk outside with Mitch, take some painkillers before you go to bed and you should be okay in the morning. I won't tell if you won't" she told her with a grin and blew her a kiss before heading into her room.

"Jim?" Melinda called "in the hot tub, it's awesome!" came his excited reply, Melinda found a black string bikini with pink writing on the bottoms which said 'kiss this' she changed out of her clothes and pulled it on before redressing and heading into the bathroom. "Hey" she said shyly as she walked in, Jim threw her a lopsided grin which made her thoughts scramble themselves and all focus on him. The bathroom was the size of most people's bedrooms, there was a raised section in the cream marble floor which held a 2-person bathtub on intricately sculpted iron feet, against the next wall was a large hot tub which was bubbling happily as Jim sat back against its plastic side. "Looks good" Melinda said quietly before biting her lip, Jim smiled "it's awesome" he replied, Melinda shook her head "I wasn't talking about the water" she said quietly before padding over to him, Jim kneeled on the front bench of the tub and smiled "you coming in?" he asked, Melinda nodded and kissed him hungrily, Jim wrapped his arms around her and his wet chest soaked her top, "can I?" Jim asked, gripping onto the bottom of it, Melinda nodded and he pulled it over her head, Melinda slipped her skirt down and climbed into the tub with Jim's help "it's nice" she said leaning her head back against the side.

"I could feel how happy you were when you were with Lisa, it was beautiful...they way your face lit up right before you ran to her, she must have been really good to you" he said reverently, Melinda nodded "she was the only person I could turn to in there, she broke the rules countless times for me...when it came time for therapy she made them let her stay with me, at meal times she told them they had to let her bring my food and let me stay in my room, my first week there she even stayed in the guest room for a few nights so she could help me get settled down, I love her" she whispered the last part with a small smile on her face. Jim took a bottle of shampoo which Melinda had placed in the bathroom earlier, he pulled the shower down from its stand on the wall and turned on a warm spray, he turned the bubbles down to minimum so the water in the tub was calm then drained some of the water so it was only half full, "get in the middle" he told Melinda softly, Melinda did as she was told and sat on her knees in the lower middle of the tub, "head back" Jim said. Melinda tipped her head back and Jim ran the shower over her hair until it was all soaked then squeezed Melinda's shampoo into his hands, he lathered up her hair gently and massaged her scalp "smells good" he said with a smile as he worked, "feels good too" Melinda replied, "close your eyes" Jim said before washing out the shampoo, he worked conditioner through her hair with gentle hands then went to rinse it out but Melinda turned around. "Leave it, it stays in for a few minutes. Can I do yours?" she asked hopefully, Jim smiled "I don't have as much hair as you" he said with a chuckle, Melinda smiled and stood up "you mind smelling like strawberries?" she asked. Jim gave her his lopsided grin and her mind stumbled "I don't mind smelling like _you_" he rephrased.

Melinda smiled and straddled his lap, she ran her hands through his hair and worked the shampoo into it softly, while massaging his head she began kissing him softly, Jim's stomach fluttered and he felt a hot electricity passing between the two of them, Melinda broke off the kiss with a gasp, her breathing was heavy and her eyes wide "I get butterflies when we kiss like that" she said with a shy smile, Jim kissed her neck "me too" he mumbled against her skin, "close your eyes" Melinda told him before rinsing out the shampoo. She rubbed in conditioner then turned around so Jim could wash hers out, once he was done she returned the favour and sat on his lap facing him with his arms "I wanna cash in my pass" Melinda said with a smile, Jim raised his eyebrows "what do you want me to do?" he asked, Melinda smiled "return the favour?" she asked holding a bottle of massage oil, Jim kissed her neck "I would have done that anyway" he mumbled. They climbed out of the tub and dried off before changing into their pyjamas, Jim wore gray boxer shorts and a black t-shirt, Melinda was in black 'Hollister' shorts, she lay on her stomach and Jim climbed up after her, "you ready?" Jim asked, "are you?" Melinda retorted quickly, Jim chuckled and squeezed out some oil into the palm of his hand.

Reviewz mean Jimel love............X


	23. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

LOVE You ALLLLLLLLLLLLL xx hope xx you're xx having xx a xx good xx summer xx xx peace xx out xx

By 11:00pm the Jim and Melinda were cuddling in bed while watching reruns of 'The Hills' "how can you like Lauren? She's a total bitch" Jim asked, Melinda slapped his chest "Lauren Conrad is the nicest person on the show, how can _you_ like _Spencer_? _He's_ a bitch, a _chauvinistic_ bitch" Melinda said with a frown, Jim chuckled "so sorry to offend the feminist in you" he said with a smile, Melinda climbed onto his chest and pressed on it "are you making fun of me?" she asked with a pout. "Maybe, I just find the whole 'woman power' thing hilarious" he joked, Melinda narrowed her eyes "there are a lot of women out there who could totally kick your ass" she said with a challenging smirk, Jim raised an eyebrow "oh yeah?" he asked, Melinda nodded and tossed her hair over her shoulder, Jim flipped her over so that he was on top of her and pinned her hands at the sides of her head before kissing her softly not noticing when Melinda clamped her eyes shut-

-_David pinned Melinda's arms at the sides of her head while Joe held her legs down and T.D forced a needle into her arm, she screamed as the contents was pushed into her vein. David let go of one of her arms and slapped her hard across the face "SHUT IT" he yelled, Melinda used her free hand to punch T.D as hard as she could, David grabbed her arm back and knelt on it as she screamed in pain, "PLEASE!!!" she was silenced by a hit from T.D which stung the side of her face, "STOP! PLEASE! I'M SORR-" she was cut off by a sickening crack, she heard it before she felt it...David laughed as he realised what he had done, he had broken her arm. Melinda opened her mouth but found that no sound would come out, heroin coursed through her screaming veins and lit her body on fire, she could feel the venomous drug as it spread, carrying its inferno through her body, as colors exploded before her eyes the room morphed into something like the view through a kaleidoscope "Melinda?"-_

"Melinda?" Jim's worried voice came, he was still hovering over her but now his hands were brushing away tears that she wasn't aware had spilled, she pushed his hand away and pushed herself back until she was against the headboard of the bed, she pulled her knees up to her chest, hid her face in them and tried to steady her breathing, a loud knock came from the door and Jim's head snapped up, Melinda stayed completely still and listened as Olivia's frantic voice came "what happened? We heard a screa- Melinda? Oh god, honey are you okay?" her voice was so close that Melinda could no longer ignore it, she looked up fearfully and Olivia gasped at her tears. Melinda watched as Olivia's hand slowly came forward, as it touched her she jumped as though she had been burned and pushed herself away, she ducked her head back into her knees and willed everyone to just leave her alone. "Is she okayl?" Christopher asked breathlessly as he ran into the room, he shut the door behind him and approached the bed "don't, she doesn't wanna be touched" Olivia warned him, Christopher stopped and kneeled down next to Olivia "sweety, what's the matter?" he asked Melinda softly, she tightened her arms around her legs very aware of the fact that she had no top on, she kept her head down and blocked out the voices.

"Jim, what happened?" Olivia asked with concern in her usually cheery voice, Jim sighed "it's my fault. We were....uh..you know, like, messing around. I kind of uh.." Jim trailed off, Melinda knew his perfect face would be crimson with embarrassment, "just say it Jim, it's okay" Olivia encouraged, "I rolled over and she was underneath me, my hands....were holding her wrists and I kissed her and she just...froze, I tried asking what was wrong but she kept her eyes closed and she started crying and when I tried to touch her she screamed, she opened her eyes and pushed me away, that's where she ended up" he explained guiltily, Melinda shook her head slightly as she was wracked with guilt that she had made Jim feel so bad. "Christopher, I think you and Jim should leave" Olivia suggested, Jim began to protest but she threw him a glare which caused him to nod and leave, Christopher followed and they waited in the room next door.

"Melinda, will you talk to me?" Olivia asked softly, Melinda didn't move so Olivia climbed onto the bed and sat down in front of her "Melinda, it's Olivia. I want you to think about where you are, you're not in that motel anymore, you're not with _them. _Can you think about who you're with right now? Think about Alexis, she's in her room bribing John to let her watch 'Mean Girls' although she knows he hates it..." Melinda nodded into her knees and Olivia let out a small breath of relief "think about Mitch, he's trying to keep track of Holly who is currently bouncing off the walls, she thinks she's being sly but let's face it, everyone knows she cracked the mini-bar" Olivia joked, Melinda looked up and nodded distantly. "Think about Christopher, he's suffered through a full hour and a half of 'The Hills' reruns because I'm totally obsessed" she said with a smile, Melinda returned it weekly and glanced in the direction of the television where the show was still playing. Olivia laughed "you too huh? It's addictive" she said with a smile. Melinda rested her head back on her knees and sighed "I'm sorry" she whispered, Olivia smiled "sweetheart, you don't have to apologise, you didn't do anything wrong" she said kindly, Melinda sighed "they used to hold me down...like Jim did, they would hold my arms and legs so that I couldn't move, when Jim...I saw it....it was like I was there all over again" she said quietly, Olivia reached out slowly to touch Melinda's leg and sighed when she flinched away "sweetheart, everything's gonna be okay, I promise. Can Jim come back in?" she asked, Melinda gave a small nod and reached out with her arms inviting Olivia in for a hug. Olivia smiled and gave Melinda a gentle squeeze and kiss on the head before leaving, "she's okay, but don't touch her unless she asks you to, okay? I know it wasn't your fault but you need to be more careful honey, we'll see you in the morning" she gave him a hug and patted his back comfortingly before heading into hers and Christopher's room.

Jim walked in and stood in the doorway nervously for a minute before Melinda looked up and bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears "I'm sorry, please don't be mad" she said quietly, Jim shook his head "I'm not mad at you Melinda, you did nothing wrong, I'm sorry...I should have thought, are you okay?" he asked, Melinda gave a small nod and held her arms out to him with a pout like a baby would, Jim chuckled and lifted her into his arms holding her close to his chest. Melinda wrapped her legs around Jim's waist and rested her head on his shoulder "I trust you" Melinda whispered, Jim pulled back and smiled at her "you don't know how much that means to me, I'll never betray that trust Melinda....and I trust you too" he kissed her head and set her down on the floor before turning the television and lights off "let's get some sleep" he said as he lay down on the bed, "you want a t-shirt?" he asked, Melinda gave him an impish grin and nodded her head before climbing on top of him and sitting on his hips. "Sit up" she commanded gently, Jim did as he was told and Melinda grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt, she gave him another smile before lifting it over his head, Jim looked at her questioningly and chuckled when she pulled it over her own head, it was way too big for her "better?" he asked, Melinda smiled "better" she replied before laying down with her head on his chest. "I can't wait to get there tomorrow" Jim said while stroking Melinda's hair, she remained silent and Jim twisted his neck to see her face, he smiled when he realised that she had already fallen asleep "I'm definitely falling in love with you Melinda Gordon" he whispered before kissing her head and letting sleep claim him.

_-__**"David, what the hell are we gonna do? We have to get rid of her" Joe said worriedly, they were driving away from Melinda's house having just killed her parents, David frowned and looked at Melinda "I know, the police are gonna find us sooner or later. How about we just chop her up and burn the pieces?" he snarled with his face only millimetres from Melinda's, she trembled involuntarily and looked up at him with wide eyes as tears flowed fast down her cheeks, "well, we could keep her a little longer, I doubt anyone will give a crap" he said with a cruel chuckle. "Please let me go, I won't tell anyone about you I swear" she begged, David laughed and held her face between his hands, "no, I think we're gonna have fun with you" he said in a way that made Melinda want to heave, the man who was sitting next to her in the back of the van placed a hand on her knee and she jerked it out of his grip. "What's the matter sexy? You got a problem?" he asked, Melinda watched him nervously as he licked his lips, she squirmed when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap "HELP!, SOMBODY HELP ME! PLEASE!! HELP!" she screamed, she opened her mouth to try again but the man kissed her roughly, she bit his tongue as hard as she could and threw her hands against his chest "let GO!" she growled pushing against him, two of the other men doubled over in laughter and slapped each other high-fives, Melinda began to cry harder, she knew that none of them were going to help her, "should we give her something to shut her up?" one of them asked, David nodded from the driver's seat and threw a small plastic packet to them, Melinda's eyes widened as she watched the man in front of her pull a small white pill from it. "Open your mouth" the one who was holding her demanded, she clenched her jaw and shook her head, "open. Your. Mouth" he growled she gasped as something dug into her stomach, she looked down and saw that he had flipped open a fold-down knife, "I don't want to" she whimpered, the knife cut into her skin and she screamed, the man in front of her took the opportunity to drop a pill into her mouth, "leave it on your tongue and suck it" he instructed, Melinda did as she was told and the knife was pulled away from her skin, she looked down to see a small cut just in the hollow next to her hip bone. **_

_**They watched intently and Melinda wondered what they were expecting to happen, would she die? Would she pass out? She soon began to feel a strange light-headedness wash over her and she looked around with sleep heavy eyes, she tried to move but found that her muscles wouldn't respond, tears rolled down her cheeks as the men laughed at her incapacitation. "That's more like it" the man who was holding her whispered in her ear, she clamped her eyes shut as his hands travelled over her body and his lips met hers-**_

Melinda woke with a start, she was covered in chill bumps and shivering, she pushed herself up and realised that she was no longer in Jim's arms but on the other side of the bed facing away from him. Melinda lifted the covers up and draped them back over herself then shuffled closer to Jim so that she was pressed against his side, Jim sighed in his sleep and rolled over so he was now half on top of her and his arm was draped across her stomach, "go back to sleep baby, I'm here" he whispered before kissing the top of her head softly, Melinda smiled and snuggled into him before closing her eyes and falling back into a much more peaceful sleep.

RRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW xx Lolly xx


	24. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

At 8:00am there was a knock on Melinda and Jim's door, Jim padded over to the door leaving Melinda sleeping, "hey Livvy" he said as he opened it, Olivia was dressed in a light pink cotton summer dress with a scoop neckline and ruched empire waist which came to just above her knees, "sleep well?" she asked, Jim smiled "very, Melinda woke up once but she went straight back to sleep, how about you?" he asked, Olivia smiled "slept great, so, you think you guys could be ready in an hour?" she asked, Jim nodded "sure, how long do you think it will take us to get there?" he asked, "not too sure, only a few hours I think, meet us in the lobby when you're done with breakfast, give these to Melinda, you should probably let her take them by herself" she handed him Melinda's pills and ran back to her room.

Jim went back in to Melinda and scooped her up into his arms gently, she jolted awake and groaned when she saw Jim "wanna sleep" she whispered softly while rubbing her cheek against his chest, Jim chuckled as her eyes dropped closed again and her breathing evened out, he carried her into the bathroom "I'll throw in the shower if you don't wake up" he threatened with a smile, Melinda stayed still and Jim turned the shower on which made her leap out of his arms and scramble behind him "no water" she groaned while rubbing her tired eyes, Jim smiled as his t-shirt fell down to its full length and reached Melinda's mid-thigh. "You're mean" Melinda grumbled as she searched her night bag for her toothbrush, Jim smiled "yeah but you love me for it" he said with a smile, Melinda paused with her toothbrush in her mouth and turned to face him, Jim's smile disappeared and he looked slightly surprised at his own words, Melinda's eyes widened-_should I say something? I don't know...did he mean it? Does he really know I love him?...-_Melinda blushed crimson and turned away to finish brushing her teeth, Jim joined her at the sink a few seconds later, Melinda glanced at him and he smiled "Olivia dropped off your medicine, it's on the bedside table...so..uh...shouldn't take too long to get to the camp" Jim said awkwardly when they finished. Melinda nodded "it'll be about five hours" she said, Jim raised his eyebrows in surprise "hey, compared to yesterday...that's nothing" she said with a roll of her hazel eyes, suddenly her expression darkened and she covered her mouth "I'm gonna be sick" she groaned, Jim rushed over to her but she shook her head and pointed to the door, Jim left reluctantly and Melinda hunched over the toilet seat. "Ew ew eeeeew" she complained as she brushed her teeth furiously after, five minutes later and she was finally convinced that her mouth was completely clean.

"I'm still alive" she joked as she came out, Jim jumped up from the bed and pulled her into his arms, "you okay?" he asked, Melinda nodded and gave him a smile "I'm good thanks, let's just forget about it" she said hopefully, he chuckled and nodded."You mind if I drive first?" Jim asked with a smile, Melinda returned it happily "sure, I'll take over at lunchtime, I know a place we could stop, I'll ask Olivia and Christopher when we get downstairs, you wanna order breakfast?" she asked, Jim smiled "you're gonna eat something?" he asked sounding surprised, Melinda smiled "they do awesome French toast" she replied happily.

Once Melinda and Jim were done eating and Melinda had taken her meds they showered in turns, Jim dressed in a light gray long sleeved t-shirt and black jeans while Melinda wore a light pink tank top and a pair of black 'So-Low' pants with a hot pink fold-over. "You ready to go?" Jim called to Melinda who was in the bathroom gathering her toiletries, "sure, you?" she said emerging with her bag, "ready when you are" he said with a smile, Melinda packed her bag into her small suitcase and followed him out of the room, "I can't wait to get down to the beach, I've been seriously surf deprived" she said as they walked out of the elevator into the hotel lobby where Christopher and Olivia were waiting, "hey guys, wasn't breakfast amazing? I had the French toast with syrup" Olivia chirped, Melinda smiled "us too" she said with a smile. Jim shot Melinda a pointed look and she shook her head pleadingly Jim frowned and ignored her "Melinda was sick this morning" he blurted out, Melina threw him a glare and rolled her eyes "I'm fine, it was before I had breakfast or my medicine, no worries" she insisted, Christopher frowned "there's a flu going around, perhaps you caught the tail end of it" he suggested. Melinda nodded "I guess...but I don't feel that ill honestly, I'm fine", Christopher nodded and Melinda sighed in relief that he had decided to let it go, the four of them waited for the rest to come down then set off on the day's journey.

4 hours and 40 minutes later, Melinda had been eating candy and drinking pop the whole journey and Jim watched in amusement as she bounced in her seat, her voice went up an octave and her speech became fast-forwarded. "Yayayayayay! Oooooh I can smell the sea!" Melinda squeaked excitedly as the pulled into the parking lot of the camp site, she looked at Jim excitedly and his eyes widened "eyes on the parking Melinda" he said worriedly, Melinda rolled her eyes and swung the car to the left quickly landing in a parking space with the tyres not straying an inch from the centre. "Point taken" Jim mumbled as Melinda hopped out of the car and sprinted over to Olivia and Christopher who were waiting by their car, "we're here!" Melinda squeaked, she threw herself at Olivia who happily wrapped her arms around her waist, then she moved to Christopher and jumped up as high as she could, he caught her around her waist and eyed her suspiciously "have you been eating candy? I think you're high on sugar and e-numbers" he said slowly, Melinda nodded and kissed him on the cheek before jumping back down and bouncing energetically on the balls of her feet "Jim gave me 'Tropicana Twister Soda' ....and two of those really big lollipops ....and a Hershey's bar...and a can of pop....and-" Melinda was cut off by Jim who had come up behind her "I think they've heard enough, you're getting me in trouble, why don't you go grab your cell phone from the car" Jim suggested, Melinda giggled and clapped her hands before running to her car.

Jim turned back to see a shocked looking Olivia and Christopher, he gave them a sheepish grin and they both raised their left eyebrow, Jim looked between them and chuckled, "how much sugar did you give her exactly?" Christopher asked, Jim shrugged "s'not my fault she goes crazy" he grumbled, Olivia shook her head in disbelief as Melinda returned and jumped on Jim's back "I didn't go crazy!" she cried indignantly "I just don't eat that much sugar very often...in fact _never!_ I've never had so much sugar in my LIFE! Yayayayay!" she jumped back down and bounced over to Holly and Mitch who were just climbing out of their car, "she's like the energizer bunny on speed!" Mitch yelled as Melinda jumped on him, he grabbed her around the waist and swung her up on his shoulder. Melinda hung over his back and kicked her legs while squealing "I want sugar!" Melinda squeaked when Mitch dropped her into Jim's waiting arms and she pouted "Jiiiim, can I have another lollipop?" she asked with her bottom lip out, his face softened, "you can have anything you-" "NO!!!" everyone else yelled simultaneously. Melinda turned to glare at everyone and stuck her lip out even further "not fair" she grumbled into Jim's chest, "I feel sick" she groaned, Jim rubbed her stomach as they followed Christopher to their cabin, "this is it!" Christopher announced as they came through a clearing in the trees "this isn't a cabin, it a mansion!" Jim yelled as Melinda bopped her head to imaginary music in his arms, he looked down at her and shook his head disbelievingly. "No kidding!" Holly squealed, she ran up to the door of the large cabin and bounced excitedly just like Melinda had done, "this is gonna be so cool" Mitch said happily as they followed Christopher inside, Jim lowered Melinda onto a soft cream couch and kissed her softly "you wait here, I'll go get the bags" he said, Mitch went out to help him and Melinda decided to explore the house, she followed the hallway that nobody else had bothered to go down, at the end was a narrow winding staircase which she followed into a huge bedroom, it had an en suite bathroom/shower.

Melinda smiled as she heard Jim calling to her from downstairs "UP HERE!" she yelled back, Jim and Mitch came up and dropped the suitcases "thanks Mitch" she chirped, he flashed her a wide grin and ran back down the stairs "what? I don't get a 'thank you'?" Jim joked, Melinda smiled and reached out for his hand while walking backwards to the bed, Jim followed until the back of Melinda's knees hit the bed and she fell back with a giggle, Jim lay on top of her supporting his weight on his elbows, he pressed his lips to hers so softly that she couldn't be sure they were touching, he pulled back and Melinda looked up at him with slight surprise as she tried to reassemble her thoughts, "you looked surprised" Jim commented. Melinda chuckled and kissed him more passionately, she traced the shaped of his bottom lip with her tongue and ran her hands up his chest, when she pulled away Jim was the one to look surprised "now you know how _I_ feel" Melinda said with a laugh, Jim smiled down at her and looked into her eyes as he thought-_I wish I could tell her how __**I**__ feel, I'm in love with her, seriously in love...I can't say that to her now, the last thing she needs is a pushy boyfriend, I don't wanna scare her or make her feel pressured. Maybe she knows already, girls are pretty smart about that kinda stuff, maybe she can already feel it...no words necessary, if I can't say it...I'll show her-_ with that thought Jim took Melinda's face gently between his hands.

Melinda gazed up at him as he stroked her cheek with his thumb and studied every inch of her face-_I'minloveI'minloveI'minloveI'minlove...I AM IN LOVE!...I can't say it out loud, holditinholditinholditin...Melinda, be calm, please be calm...oh I can't! I'm so in love with him and I know it will freak him out if I say it...well, if I can't say it...I'll show him-_with that thought Melinda pulled Jim's head down and kissed him passionately, Jim responded instantly and kissed her back hoping that he could speak the word he wanted to say through their kiss..._'I love you'._ –_Say it Melinda, just tell him you love him!-_Melinda pulled back after a couple of minutes and gazed into his eyes "Jim, I ...uh...well I think.." she was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming up the staircase, the two of them jumped apart and scrambled so that they were sitting up facing each other. Christopher reached the top of the stairs with a smile "Hey guys, we're gonna stay here for the night, tomorrow we'll go surfing and explore the beach then tomorrow night we're gonna take a trail out into the woods and camp out, we're just gonna chill out this afternoon, I know everyone's pretty tired from all the driving, feel free to wander off but let us know when you leave, okay?" he finished, Melinda and Jim nodded with slightly flustered smiles and Christopher chuckled before jogging back down the stairs.

Mood of the moment disrupted, Melinda jumped off the bed and grabbed a blanket, "there's something I wanna show you" she said holding her hand out to Jim, he followed willingly as she led him downstairs "we're not going far, I know the way" Melinda explained to Olivia who smiled "be back before it gets dark, I don't want you out there alone at night" Melinda nodded and led Jim outside. As Melinda stepped outside a wave of dizziness swept over her, her stomach churned and she swayed slightly, her vision darkened momentarily but returned to normal shortly after, Jim hadn't noticed as he was shutting the door behind them, Melinda shook it off and continued onto the path that they had come down from the car park, she ran ahead of Jim and he chuckled when she did a little celebratory dance at winning the non-existent race, Melinda slowed to a stop on the edge of the car park as dizziness swept over her again and this time she couldn't fight it off, she leaned forward in an attempt to balance herself but her body went limp halfway and she sunk to the ground.

Please Leave A review xx Love you all.... xx Lolly xx


	25. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

MAJOR love for you guys, thanks for all the awesome reviews, hang tight because although things will soon appear to be on the up...you never know what's waiting around the corner for our cute couple!!!! AWESOME!

"Mel, are you okay?! Did you trip?" Jim yelled while running across the distance, he felt dark dread begin to churn in his stomach when she didn't even move. He reached her quickly and fell to his knees, her eyelids looked slightly bruised and her usually sun-kissed skin was pale and clammy, her lips were slightly blue and she was completely still "NO! Baby please wake up!..please..please honey ...open your eyes Melinda!" he sobbed, he lightly tapped her cheek but her head just fell limply to the side, he checked her pulse but couldn't find one, "breathe baby, please just breathe" he cried while pumping her chest as hard as he could, he breathed into her mouth and waited to see if she would respond, he cried out in frustration when she didn't and began pumping her chest again. All of a sudden she turned her head upwards as her eyes flew open and her delicate hands balled into tight fists at her sides, her body began to shake uncontrollably and her back arched, Jim wrapped the blanket Melinda had been carrying around her trembling body "Oh God, please help, please help me" he mumbled as he dialled Olivia's number "Liv call an ambulance and meet me outside, something's wrong with Mel, she's in real bad shape, I'll bring her back" he said before gathering a now still Melinda in his arms and running back through the trees, he ran all the way back to the house, where Olivia and Christopher had now come outside, and laid Melinda on the blanket, "Jesus Christ! What happened?!" Christopher yelled before falling to his knees beside her he struggled for a few seconds then sighed in relief when he was finally able to gage a faint pulse from her "I have no idea, it looked like she just fell..." Jim replied worriedly. Five minutes later her back arched once more and she shook violently, she began to choke and Christopher rolled her onto her side, just as her body relaxed again flashing blue lights could be seen through the trees and seconds later an ambulance sped through the the car park and came to a stop right outside the cabin.

"I'll go with her, Jim you drive yourself and Olivia to the hospital, take the one-ninety-eight west" he said as the ambulance crew loaded Melinda in, he climbed in after her and held her hand as they hooked her up to various machines. Jim and Olivia jumped into Jim's car and drove as fast as the car would allow to the hospital, they brokeke the speed limits, crossed red lights and cut people off on roundabouts but their minds were on one thing and one thing only...Melinda.

10 minutes later at 3:00 Olivia and Jim climbed out of the car and ran straight to the E.R where they found Christopher with his head in his hands, "honey!" Olivia yelled, she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "have they told you anything?" she asked into his chest, "they rushed her in to have some blood tests, until then they won't know what's wrong with her" he said worriedly, Jim sighed and both Olivia and Christopher threw worried glances his way, "Jim, I think it might be best if you go home, I don't want you to be here if...if anything goes wrong" he said quietly, Jim shook his head with tears streaming down his face "I love her...and I'm not going anywhere until I know that she's going to be okay" he said passionately before storming off down the hall to the reception desk to ask if there was any progress, they said they'd let him know as soon as something changed so he decided to sit on his own around the corner from where Christopher and Olivia were.

Jim rested his head on his knees and waited patiently, he frequently went up to the desk but was always met with the same response 'when we know, you'll know" Just after midnight he was told that it looked like she would be there for a day or two, he dozed on and off for hours before finally succumbing to sleep at around 3:00am, "" he woke with a start and was faced with a beautiful young woman, her milk chocolate skin was radiant and glowing, it made Jim think of Melinda's skin, how it had looked so deathly pale the last time he saw her, as if there was no blood running beneath her veins. "Mr. Clancy, I'd like to discuss Ms. Gordon's condition with you" she said softly, she took a seat next to him and placed a slender hand on his shoulder. "I understand that Ms. Gordon has an eating disorder of sorts, her body is severely undernourished, this prolonged starvation enabled Melinda to function on glucose levels much lower than average, but it appears she hasn't eaten anything in days and has consumed quite a lot of sugar today. I was informed that she may have had the flu when she was brought in but when the blood results came back there was no sign of the virus in her system. Melinda is suffering from a very severe case of hypoglycaemia, it was kind of like a time bomb just waiting to go off and the high amount of sugar she had today just gave it a kick-start, Mr. Clancy, I'm going to read you a list of symptoms and I'd like you to let me know if there are any that she has not presented in the past two weeks, do you understand?" she asked, Jim was still trying to wrap his mind around what he had just heard, he nodded distantly and struggled to break free from the guilty haze that had fallen over his mind. "Headaches, anxiety, depression, crying, negativism, rage, irritability, change in personality, fatigue, weakness, daydreaming, excessive sleep" she paused there and looked at Jim expectantly, Jim's eyes widened and filled with tears "no rage that I saw, but everything else ...we just thought she was sick" he whispered.

The doctor nodded and continued "confusion, dizziness, amnesia, double vision, slurred speech, ataxia-it's a lack of coordination that can easily be mistaken for drunkenness, abnormal breathing, seizures" she finished, Jim thought for a second then shook his head "she didn't have amnesia and she never mentioned any double vision, I should have known, we all should have...those symptoms don't all come with the flu, but hypoglycaemia isn't exactly on the top of the list of possibilities, you know?" he said, the doctor nodded "I completely understand , the symptoms are very hard to differentiate from other illnesses and hypoglycaemia isn't exactly common in non-diabetics, it's a perfectly understandable mistake. Would you like to go and see her while I inform the parents? She probably won't wake up for a while" she said, Jim's eyes widened in surprise "you haven't told them yet? How come?" he asked confusedly, the doctor smiled "they went down to get breakfast around half an hour ago, I'm gonna go track them down in the cafeteria, it's on the second floor if you want anything" Jim nodded "thanks" he said, "wait a second...breakfast?-what time is it?" he asked, she giggled at his confusion "it's 8:00am honey, you've been here for a full 17 hours", Jim wiped his eyes and cleared his throat before speaking "would it be okay if I told them first, about Melinda I mean, Olivia's not doing so great and I think it would help to hear it from me...only if it's okay with you" he said, the doctor pursed her full and perfectly glossed lips and squinted her mascara coated eyes in thought "do you think you can remember what I told you?" she asked with a challenging smile, Jim gave her a smile in return "I think I got it" he said. "Alright, like I said they're on the second floor, just ask reception when you get back and a nurse will show you to the private wing, she's lucky to have you sweety" she said with a smile before walking back to reception and picking up a clip board. Jim smiled as he stood in the elevator happily and wiped the tears from his face before stepping out, -_she's gonna be okay_- he thought with joy as he followed the signs through the network of hallways and corridors before he finally spotted Olivia and Christopher hunched over a table with a cup of coffee each, Jim walked over to them and shuffled his weight from one foot to the other.

"What is it sweetheart?" Olivia asked tiredly, she looked like she hadn't slept at all and had spent the night crying her eyes out, "the doctor came and talked to me, I asked her if I could be the one to tell you guys...Melinda doesn't have the flu" he paused, considering how best to continue, Olivia grasped his hand in hers "well that's good right? She's gonna be okay?" she asked desperately, Jim squeezed her hand and fought back the newest wave of happy tears as he nodded, "she didn't have the flu, we were wrong, all of those symptoms...they were something else. She's been ill for months and the past week she hasn't eaten at all, she's had so much sugar today..." he choked on the lump forming in his throat because he felt so guilty for being the one to give Melinda all the candy in the car, and sniffled before continuing "Melinda has hypoglycaemia...the doctor said that she should wake up soon" he said, Christopher took Olivia's hand gently in one of his and took Jim's with the other, "can...can we see her?" he asked, Jim nodded "they told me to ask at reception, I'm sure we could do it up here" He said.

They walked hand in hand drawing comfort from one another and then followed a young attendant to the room that Melinda had been given, " Doctor McNamara will be in as soon as rounds are finished" she said before leaving, they all walked in nervously and Olivia smiled sadly when she saw Melinda, the massive room and large hospital bed swallowed her, her lower half was covered with light pink blankets and her arms had been laid at her sides, and intravenous drip had been inserted and had caused a round purple bruise on the back of her hand, her forefinger of the same hand was clamped in a pulse oximeter which measured the oxygen saturation in her blood. Olivia curled up in the chair closest to Melinda's bed and hugged her knees to her chest, Christopher and Jim sat on either side of her hospital bed, "I fell in love with her, I never had the guts to tell her, there were moments when I would think it...there would be this silence and I would wonder...does she know what I'm feeling?...Does she feel the same? She would look into my eyes and I swear in those moments...it was like I was reading what was inside of her, and I thought... 'she knows, no words necessary, she knows that I love her'. But then she would look away from me like she was ashamed of something, ashamed to feel. I should have told her that there was nothing to be ashamed of...all those opportunities I had to tell her how I feel and I never took advantage of any of them. I know now that I shouldn't have made assumptions...just because I knew how I felt doesn't mean she did too...and now, I... have to let her know that I love her" he said with a sob "I do Chris, I love her so much..." he said pleading with Christopher to understand. Christopher wiped his tears with the back of his hand and nodded in understanding so overwhelmed that he couldn't bring himself to speak, he went over to Olivia and pulled her into his lap allowing her to relax in his arms.

Hours passed and doctors and nurses came in and out of Melinda's room at timed intervals, they told the family not to worry and that Melinda would wake up when her body was ready, in no time at all it was 7:00pm and Olivia's cell phone was ringing Olivia stirred in Christopher's lap and yawned, she pulled her phone out of her purse and sighed "mom, are you still at the hospital?" came Alexis' voice, Olivia answered shakily "uh, yes sweetheart, Melinda's not very well at the moment, the doctor says she will be fine and we'll probably be brining her home tomorrow.....sure, you can tell them.....I love you too " she said before hanging up. Jim smiled and returned to studying Melinda's face, she eventually let out a long sigh and opened her eyes "Livvy, Chris!" Jim yelled, the two of them jumped up and ran to her side, "Melinda?" Olivia asked hopefully.

Melinda groaned and sat up slowly "I feel like crap" she grumbled causing everyone to laugh, Jim pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately but with the same measure of caution that he always used to avoid frightening her "I love you..." Melinda blurted out "...I fell in love with you Jim, I was too afraid to say anything because I know you don't feel the same way and I don't want to ruin what we have, but you have to know Jim, I love you" she said with such sincerity that Jim felt the butterflies that had slumbered in tandem with Melinda awaken and flutter happily in his chest.

Jim was at leaning over her in a split second with both of his hands cupping her face "I didn't want to scare you away, after everything you had been through I figured the last thing you'd need is a pushy boyfriend. I love you, I'm so in love with you, I swear to god Melinda I was too afraid to tell you how _I_ felt, how I feel...I love you" he searched Melinda's eyes and smiled when she kissed him softly. "Well this just got a little awkward" Olivia said, Christopher sniggered "I'm glad you're feeling better baby" he said happily. They spent the rest of the night joking and laughing, Olivia, Christopher and Jim decided to stay for the night as they had been told that Melinda could go home in the morning.

XXX couldn't leave you hangin' on that one for too long xx Luv ya xx REVIEW! xx


	26. Chapter 26

Hey Y'all xx Please check out the links on my profile for pics of The Jenner's house in HWC and some other stuff for a story I'm working on called 'Be My Saviour' which will probably be a long ONESHOT and 'Revenge' There are also a couple of trailers I made.....ENJOY It LOL ....Luv YA!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

It was only 4:00am when Melinda woke up crying, Olivia and Christopher stood at her side as Jim lay on her bed and pulled her into his arms "I..I m...my mom..." she mumbled sleepily without opening her eyes as tears streaming down her cheeks, Olivia's face crumpled and tears began to fall at the thought that Melinda didn't mean her though she knew she could never expect that, Melinda turned over and opened her eyes, she smiled when she saw Olivia's tears "stop.. crying, I m..m. .meant ...L..Livvy" she said in a soft voice between sobs. Olivia laughed through her tears and peppered Melinda's face with kisses mumbling "I love you" over and over "I love you too" she replied with a smile "you'll be out of here in a few hours" Olivia said happily. "Can I still go surfing today?" Melinda asked hopefully, Jim, Olivia and Christopher looked at her in surprise "are you sure?" Jim asked, Melinda nodded "I'll have tomorrow to rest after, I don't wanna miss anything" she said, "you're such a nerd" Jim murmured into her hair, she swatted his chest "so says Mr. Science geek?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, Jim chuckled "so says _your _Mr. Science geek" he confirmed, Melinda giggled and lay her head on his chest "you guys are disgusting" Christopher joked with a scrunched up nose, "go back to sleep honey, we'll wake you up when it's time to get ready to go", Melinda nodded and nestled her head in the crook of Jim's neck and closed her eyes, Jim beamed at Olivia and Christopher who both returned the smile.

It was 8:00 when everyone was woken up by the doctor," I've filled out all of your paperwork already. Now, everyone listen up...there is no cure for hypoglycaemia, but there _is_ treatment, the glucose supplement that you're on now is perfect, but I need you to eat three decent meals a day. I want you drinking fruit juice and eating healthily. I need you guys to make sure that Melinda takes her medicine faultlessly and I need you to oversee her eating to make sure she's looking after herself, you should feel 100% better by this afternoon" with that the doctor gave a sweet smile and excused herself.

Half an hour later Melinda was fast asleep with her head on Jim's lap in the backseat of Christopher's car, "she loves me too, did you hear her say it last night?..it was amazing" Jim said reverently and he trailed his fingertips lightly over every inch of her face, Olivia glanced back from the front seat and smiled "it was" she agreed, Melinda sighed lightly and nestled her head into his stomach, Jim smiled and kissed her head softly. "I wonder if she's scared, I don't want her to be...about her illness I mean..." Jim said worriedly, "I won't be scared as long as you're with me" Melinda murmured, she sat up and her hair fell to one side as she tilted her head, Jim smiled at her and cupped her face with his hands gently "Always. How do you feel?" he asked, Melinda gave him a soft smile and leaned in to kiss him, she then lay on her back and rested her head on Jim's lap. "Can we get burgers on the beach? They have an awesome barbeque" Melinda suggested, Jim beamed down at her "you have no idea how good that sounds" he said with a smile, "Jim?...I love you" Melinda said quietly "I love you more" Jim replied with a smile "not possible" Melinda whispered while shaking her head "is too" Jim insisted with a smile. Christopher made gagging sounds from the front seat "it's...so...sickening" he choked between retching, everyone laughed and Olivia swatted his arm playfully "play nice", "only if you'll play too baby" he replied with a suggestive smirk which Olivia returned "I don't always play by the rules" she said with a wink, Christopher reached over and laced his fingers through hers "I think I can handle it" he replied.

Jim and Melinda glanced at each other before rolling their eyes and gagging simultaneously, "It's...so...sickening" they mimicked perfectly then they erupted into raucous laughter and Melinda squealed when Jim tickled her stomach. "So, Melinda, I hope you haven't forgotten what day it is on Thursday" Olivia said while turned in her seat to study Melinda's face, Melinda groaned and shook her head, "just Thursday" she grumbled, knowing full well what that day meant, "IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!" Olivia squeaked excitedly, "now, we were wondering what you'd like to do... we could go out somewhere or.." "nothing" Melinda mumbled, Jim frowned down at her "that doesn't sound normal for a sixteen year old girl" he said questioningly, Melinda gave him a scowl but the tears in her eyes softened it a little, "what's wrong?" Olivia asked, "this birthday just isn't one I want to celebrate" Melinda murmured. Jim's eyes widened in understanding while Olivia and Christopher still looked perplexed, "I understand" he whispered before pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly, Melinda sighed and wiped her eyes "I know it's silly but.." "no it isn't, I know how you're feeling" he comforted, "can we just..,_not_ talk about it... please?" she pleaded, Jim nodded – he understood that it was her first birthday since her parents had been killed, it would be her first birthday celebrating without them, he sighed as he remembered his first birthday alone, he'd paid some low-life to buy him as much liquor as he could and the next thing he knew he woke in hospital a week later after crashing the car that had belonged to his father.-_I won't let her be like me-_ Jim thought with determination, Olivia had obviously caught on and apologised quietly which Melinda didn't respond to, she just kept her head down in Jim's lap and her eyes shut lightly.

"We're here" Olivia announced as the pulled into the car park, Jim climbed out and swept Melinda into his arms, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and kissed his neck, "MELINDA! ARE YOU OKAY!?" came Holly's terrified shriek, Melinda giggled and jumped down from Jim's arms to hug her "m'okay" she mumbled into Holly's silky hair, Alexis followed and then Mitch, once everyone was done greeting her they went into the house to explain what had happened.

"But isn't that like what diabetics have?" Mitch asked confusedly once they finished, Melinda nodded "one and the same" she grumbled, he nodded and kissed the top of her head "if you need anything..._anything_..please don't hesitate to ask" he said sweetly before gently wrapping his arms around Melinda "thanks Mitch" she sighed into his chest. Jim smiled as he watched the two of them happy to know that she would always have someone else looking out for her, "let's go to the beach" Christopher said softly, everyone agreed and excitement rang through the cabin as they all went into their respective rooms to change, Melinda followed Jim quietly thinking about her birthday-_I don't even wanna think about celebrating right now...what's there to celebrate? I just wish everyone would forget about my stupid birthday, it doesn't mean anything anymore-_ she thought with a heavy heart.

Jim turned to her as they reached their room and gazed into her eyes as though he was reading her mind, he cupped her face gently with his hands and kissed her forehead "my first birthday after my parents died...I hung out on the corner of my street until I found someone willing to by me a couple of bottles of Vodka. This guy came along..." Jim wrapped his arms around Melinda and laid her gently on the bed before lying on his side next to her and lacing his fingers with hers.

"...He wasn't any older than I am now, he asked me what I wanted and I asked him for two bottles Melinda..._two full bottles!.._.I was so stupid, I didn't know how to deal with the fact that I was meant to celebrate when my mom and dad had just _died_, what the hell was there to celebrate? I got completely wasted...I got in my car... and the next thing I knew I was waking up in hospital surrounded by police and social workers, I got a caution for under-aged drinking and a DUI but I was so young that they let it go, I got privileges taken away from me at the children's home, I had a serious concussion and I felt like hell chewed me up and spit me out. Turns out I had passed out behind the wheel and wrapped my car around a telephone pole...you know, I hear stories about people being killed by drunk drivers and I think 'God...how could anyone be so stupid? How could someone be _so stupid _that they would get in their car drunk and turn the key in the ignition, get half a mile up the street and cross an intersection over a red light? So careless that they would end up leaving a little kid without their parents? Because I know what that feels like...I know what it's like to be on your own and I would never wish that on anyone. But then I realised...I _was_ that stupid, I could have been the guy that a little girl would look at and say 'that's him...that's the guy that killed my parents' and I knew that I could never take that risk again, because the only thing that separates me from those guys in the news stories...is luck. I guess my point is that..I acted out because I was alone, I had no one to love me and that's the worst feeling in the world. I want you to know that you don't have to be alone, because _I_ love you" he finished with a sincere fire in his eyes.

Melinda snuggled into the crook of his arm "it wasn't your fault...and maybe it _was_ just luck that stopped somebody from getting hurt, but that's good enough, as long as you learned something from it then the experience had value, I'm so thankful that you're here Jim...because that could be me...passing out drunk and crashing my car, I could end up in hospital next the husband of a woman that I knocked down because I couldn't control myself...but I won't. I won't because you're here, to know that there is someone who truly understands me but still loves me anyway is the greatest gift I could have and I thank you for that...for everything" Melinda timidly ran her hand up Jim's chest and then raised herself above him, "I love you" she said quietly smiling at how good it sounded to her, Jim smiled back and reached up to gently pull her face to his "I love you too" he whispered softly before touching his lips softly to hers, he moved slowly and lovingly with Melinda's bottom lip between both of his. "Hurry up! I wanna go to the beach!!" came Olivia's excited squeak, Jim and Melinda pulled apart reluctantly and smiled at each other. "We aren't even changed yet" Melinda said with a giggle, she leapt from the bed and grabbed a midnight blue string bikini from her suitcase as well as a white tank top and purple 'Hollister' shorts, she quickly changed in the bathroom and came out to find Jim in a white tank top and purple board shorts, Melinda sniggered in amusement, "what?" Jim asked confusedly "we match silly", Jim looked between them and rolled his eyes "you're rubbing off on me" he said with a smile, he pulled his tank top off and replaced it with a black one "better?" he asked, Melinda nodded "much" she replied.

Pwease Review xx Luv ya xx


	27. Chapter 27

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

**And it is sooooooo totally true guys, you grow up in Cali and it's pretty much illegal to not know how to surf! LOL x love ya x leave a review if you like it !! peace xx Lolly xx**

Melinda and Jim were grabbing towels and sun-lotion from the bathroom when Melinda felt a familiar headache begin to nag at her, she ignored it determinedly and bolted down the stairs followed by Jim, where everyone except for Holly was waiting, "you're girlfriend's taking forever" Alexis whined to Mitch, he chuckled "she's having some kind of wardrobe crisis, she can't find flip-flops that match that thing you tie around your waist" he said with an 'I don't have a clue what she's talking about' look, "it's a sarong" Melinda said with a roll of her eyes that Alexis mirrored, "whatever" Jim and Mitch murmured simultaneously. "Okay! I'm ready!" came Holly's unnaturally high voice, she appeared at the bottom of the stairs in a light blue halter-neck bathing suit with a dark blue sarong and matching flip-flops, "very glam" Melinda complimented with a smile, "why thank you" Holly replied with a twirl.

It only took five minutes for them to drive down to the beach and Melinda's eyes lit up when she saw the size of the waves that were coming in despite the fact that her head was still pounding "think you can handle it?" Jim asked a little worriedly Melinda gave him a smile before heading to the beach rent store, everyone followed her and chose their boards and wax. "You ready?" Melinda asked, everyone looked at her nervously "could we maybe...watch you first?" Olivia asked as she rested her board on the sand, Melinda smiled "sure, just gimme a sec" she replied, using 'Sex Wax-Warm water surf' Melinda covered her board in neat circular motions, "what's that for?" Alexis asked. "Traction, stops you from slipping" Melinda replied as she pulled her clothes off and handed them to Jim before she lifted her board back up, Mitch chuckled "you can't seriously be able to use that thing...it's twice your size" he scoffed, Melinda narrowed her eyes then rolled them "watch and learn my man....watch and learn" she said with a smug smile. Melinda kicked the bottom of her board with her right foot and caught it under her arm in one swift motion, with a glance back at Jim she carried it down to the water and climbed on it once she was knee deep, revelling in the familiar feeling of the warm water crashing over as she paddled out, Melinda got far enough out that she would be able to catch an early surf and ride all the way in-shore.

The whole family watched open mouthed as Melinda attached her ankle strap then crouched on the board balancing perfectly, Jim held his breath as a large wave began to make its way towards her tiny from, Melinda let out a squeal of delight as it neared her then stood up ,bent her knees, leaned forward and effortlessly glided along the almost vertical wall of water, she pushed her back foot down as hard as she could and lightened the pressure on her front foot causing the board to climb the wave quickly and jump out, as the tail end left the water she crouched down and grabbed the board firmly with her hands. The wave crashed on itself beneath her as her board flipped a full 360, people on the beach as well as the family were now watching in amazement as Melinda landed easily back on the water and stood up, grinning widely she let a smaller wave carry her quickly back, she undid her ankle strap and lay down on her stomach to cruise the rest of the way in.

Jim attempted in vain to close his mouth and instead settled for releasing his held breath, "that was so HOT!" Mitch yelled as Melinda walked towards them, Melinda waited for the smack that she was sure Holly would give him but it never came, instead Holly nodded with wide eyes and a smile "_totally_ HOT!" she agreed, "_mega _HOT" Alexis added, "back off, she's mine" Jim joked as Melinda reached him, her pulled her into his arms and spun her around "that was so amazing! Where did you learn to surf like that?!" he asked as Melinda wrapped her legs around his waist, "you grow up in Cali and it's practically a law" she said with a smile, "you guys ready to try?" Melinda asked, "YOU BET!!!" chorused through the group, Melinda instructed them all to wax up their boards then walked down to the water with them, "LAY DOWN ON YOUR STOMACH IN THE MIDDLE" Melinda yelled over the roar of the water, she stood up on her own board to watch over the rest, Mitch glanced up at her with a determined expression "why aren't you laying down?" he asked with narrowed eyes, "because _I_ know what I'm doing" she replied matching his expression, he rolled his eyes and made a move to stand up just as a wave crashed ahead of them and sent a wall of foam their way "WOAH!" he yelled before flying sideways off his board, Melinda laughed along with the rest of the family and her eyes became fixed when she saw a small wave heading to them "stand up slowly with your knees bent, you can crouch down and hold on if you need to" she commanded, everyone did as they were told and Holly was the only one who managed to stand up the same way Melinda was.

After three hours of surfing and lunch-which Melinda hadn't actually eaten, she had been breaking her burger into small pieces and managing to shove them back into the wrapper in her large beach bag so it looked like she was just eating slowly, she wasn't sure why but she just didn't feel comfortable, even though now she knew how dangerous it could be in her condition- Melinda and Christopher were sitting on the beach making a giant sand castle while the others played volleyball and splashed around in the water, "I don't feel very well" Melinda said quietly as her head pounded a thousand times harder than before, she knew she needed to eat something..._quick_, the small sound of her voice not even coming close to showing the amount of pain she was really in, "what hurts?" Christopher asked edging closer and lifting Melinda's head to study her face, "my head" she replied, he placed his hand across her head and sighed "you're burning up, maybe we should get you back inside, I'll go and get you a drink, get your stuff together and I'll take you to the cabin, I think you need to lay down for a while", Melinda nodded and jumped up to grab her stuff, her head swam and her stomach lurched "Christoph...-" she was unable to finish as her vision quickly began to fade "Melinda! Stay with me sweety, can you hear me?" Christopher asked frantically, Melinda nodded distantly as the horizon tipped from one side to the other like a teeter-totter, his strong arms wrapped around her and held her up. "Melinda, I need you to hold on to my voice honey, please" he pleaded worriedly, Melinda nodded "my head hurts so bad" she whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks.

...........

"HA! I knew I'd win man, never try to defeat the Clancy!" Jim yelled, Mitch had just completely missed the serve in a game of volleyball, his eyes transfixed on something in the distance "Jim, something's wrong with Melinda!" Mitch yelled before taking off at a sprint, Jim's head whipped around and he saw Melinda gathered in Christopher's arms, he took off running so fast that he passed Mitch and was by Melinda's side before Christopher had time to turn around, "what happened?!" Jim asked breathlessly, Christopher shook his head "I don't know yet, she told me her head was hurting, I said I'd take her to lay down and when she stood up to get her stuff she just started swaying, she half collapsed but I caught her in time" "Jim?" came Melinda's small voice. "I'm here baby, I'm here" he replied taking her from Christopher with ease and letting her settle against his chest, "what's the matter baby, what are you feeling?" he asked worriedly, "my head hurts Jim" she whimpered, Jim pressed his cheek to hers and flinched in surprise "she's burning up".

It took ten minutes for everyone to be packed up, drive, and settled back at the cabin, Melinda had fallen asleep in the car and Jim set her down on the couch before going to meet Christopher who had called a family meeting. "Conscious, but sleeping like a baby", Olivia nodded from behind the kitchen counter and gave a small smile. "I spoke to the doctor who treated Melinda last night, she said that this is gonna keep happening until Melinda starts eating and drinking right" Christopher said, Jim nodded "she ate lunch today and she was sipping from a bottle of coke", Christopher shook his head sadly and dumped Melinda's bag on the table, he opened it wide and pulled out three things-the burger Melinda was meant to have eaten for lunch.. it was obvious she had just been pulling pieces off and shoving them back into the wrapper, the bottle of coke she had been sipping on, still almost full, and a carton of juice that Jim gave her, unopened. "Why?" Holly whispered with tears of dismay rolling down her cheeks, "because she's afraid...of us. When she had that strange episode in the lounge where she talked through a flashback, Livvy said that it was likely to set her ten steps back, we all thought she must have been mistaken because Melinda seemed fine, but I think that Melinda was lying, trying to make us think she was getting better so that we would stop worrying and being scared for her all the time. Melinda doesn't like the fact that her illness is upsetting us, she can't actually get better but figured if she faked it, we could all be happy".

Silence fell across the room as everyone contemplated this, "I need to give her the sugar shot" Christopher whispered, 'sugar shot' was the name Melinda used to refer to her artificial nutritional support injection which was basically the same as the pill she had to take every day as it consisted mostly of glucose, she had never had to use it yet, only taking the pill form, but they were told at the hospital that if ever she collapsed, the first thing they had to do was inject her to raise her blood sugar level. Jim nodded and disappeared to wake Melinda, Christopher sighed, "I know that this will be horrible, but I think you should watch Melinda's injection, I need to know that no matter where she is, there will always be someone there who knows how to care for her, are you okay with that?" he asked, everyone except for Mitch nodded "I don't think she'd ever let me do it, do you?" he asked sadly, "if she needed it, yes"...simple.

"Wake up baby, Melinda" Jim whispered, her eyes didn't open. "Melinda?" Jim asked, his voice rose in worry, she didn't stir and he panicked "CHRIS!" he called in fear, Christopher rushed in followed by everyone else and a strangled noise escaped Alexis' throat "why won't she wake up?" Holly asked in a small voice, Christopher knelt down beside the couch. "Melinda, wake up honey" he said loudly giving her shoulder a small shake, "Mitch, go into our bedroom and get me Melinda's medicine bag, it's on the little bedside table" "she was fine when I left her here, she was...she was just sleeping and she was still holding my hand, she seemed okay!" Jim panicked, meanwhile Olivia was speaking on the phone "no, she can't wake up....yes.....okay.....she's due to have her other injections tomorrow morning.......twice?.....thank you so much.......so if she wakes up, we don't have to bring her in?......I'll call back as soon as I can....thank you....bye" the one-sided conversation was easy enough to follow, "Melinda has to have the injection today and tomorrow morning with the other two, they said she should wake up within minutes but if not then we have to take her to the ER" Olivia announced.

Breathing was shaky as everyone stood around Melinda's tired body, Mitch ran back in with the small red bag zip-up bag which contained all of Melinda's medicine, "I want you all to pay attention, Mitch, do you think you can do this?" Christopher asked, "sure, but-" "because you need to learn" Christopher replied quickly. "Use that hand gel to clean your hands" Mitch squeezed the alcohol rub onto his hands and rubbed the cool lotion in until he was sure his hands were clean, "take out one of the syringes and peel back the plastic", Mitch did as he was told and took one of the vials of medicine out also, "pull the plastic cap off of the needle but make sure not to touch it" Jim held Melinda's hand tightly as he watched Mitch work, a look of such fierce concentration on his face that it comforted Jim, "that's right, well done" Christopher praised, Mitch had turned the vial upside down and drawn the liquid down, "now tap the needle a few times until there are no bubbles left then push it up so that a little comes out of the top" Mitch carefully did as he was told and kept calm and collected despite the palpable tension of the room.

Jim lifted Melinda's tank top to expose her stomach and kissed her head while they waited, Mitch nervously glanced at Jim who smiled comfortingly "right there" he said pointing to the small bruise that was left on her soft skin from the last time, "the one on the left", the one on the right was for a muscle. Mitch took a deep breath and pushed the needle in slowly, he emptied it steadily as everyone watched him closely. "I did it" he whispered as he pulled the needle back out and held a small ball of cotton wool against Melinda's skin "I did it" he announced louder, everyone smiled and Jim gave him a brotherly hand shake "you did good son" Christopher praised.

"Dad?" Holly's small voice came "why isn't she waking up?" Alexis finished, "just wait" Christopher's voice was tight with stress, Olivia stood with a trembling hand covering her mouth and Jim whispered softly in Melinda's ear. "This will become a regular occurrence if Melinda doesn't start taking care of herself" Christopher murmured, Melinda's breathing changed so slightly that it would have gone unnoticed had they not been watching so closely, "it's okay honey, you're okay, I'm here" Jim soothed as Melinda's eyelids fluttered open, she clamped them shut again and rubbed them like a small child would before attempting to sit up, Jim wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap kissing her softly, Melinda blushed at the public display and he chuckled "you're okay?" he asked, Melinda nodded once with a confused expression Jim knew she was silently asking _what happened?_. Christopher stepped forward, "Melinda, is there something you'd like to tell us, perhaps something about lunch?" he asked, Melinda's expression resembled 'deer in the headlights' and she shook her head "are you sure, because I think that there might be something" he said with a worried expression on his handsome features, Melinda pressed her lips together and shook her head again before standing, she winced as a sharp pain shot through her stomach and looked down to see that her tank top was still hitched up and her almost healed bruise was newly purple and a small spot of blood shone.

-_The injection? No...they wouldn't, would they? Who did it? How could they do that? They didn't ask..Christopher didn't count to three, Jim didn't hold my hand....they all watched? Why would he do that, why would he do it in front of everyone- _Angry eyes met Christopher's in accusation and he winced, "Melinda, I understand that you must be a little confused, you passed out because your blood sugar level dropped so dramatically, to avoid you going back into hypoglycaemia we had to give you the 'sugar shot', everyone stayed in here while it was being done because I asked them to, I think it's crucial that everyone knows exactly what to do in case you're not with Jim or myself, Melinda, if you insist on defying doctor's then you're going to have to face the consequences. I'm sorry honey, but I need to know that you're taken care of no matter where you are, is that such a bad thing?" he asked, Melinda kept her lips pressed tightly together as she rushed out of the room brushing past Christopher as she did. "Melinda!" Jim called, Melinda fought the urge to run into his arms –_he was there, he let them do this to me-_ she ran up to the bedroom she was sharing with Jim and ran her hands through her hair, tears streamed steadily down her face as she thought about what Christopher had said -_"if you insist on defying the doctor's orders then you're going to have to face the consequences". So I'm being punished? They're punishing me for being ill? I knew they didn't understand, nobody does-_ "Melinda" she was broken from her anguished reverie by Jim's soft voice, his footsteps neared her and she whipped around to glare at him so fiercely that he stopped in his tracks, she shook her head with her lips slightly parted, cheeks glistening with tears and eyes pained - a look that said _I can't believe you would do this to me._

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	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

_**Wow, okay, this is kinda hard so please bear with me... I've had so many PM's asking me the same thing over and over again, and although I know I shouldn't...I've been purposely ignoring them. But today I received the 20**__**th**__** message regarding the same subject and I figured that I'd just have to deal with it, a whole bunch of you figured that the information I was using about Melinda's eating disorder was 1**__**st**__** hand. You all said the same thing 'I noticed that a lot of what you write about it (the ED) sounds like it's coming from personal experience' and 'your information is totally personal, it's not just what you read in text books, do you mind talking about it?' So, I'm sorry for avoiding it, I was just being a baby, it's not something I was sure I wanted to talk about, but I figure it might help somebody who's unable to understand, if I can do that, it's worth it. Feel free to PM me and ask me anything you want about this, I'll answer your questions honestly and as best as I can, anything you want to know, I'm willing. Please don't send me any rude messages about it, that's not fair, treat the subject with respect. Lolly x**_

"Mel..." she clenched her jaw visibly, daring him to keep talking, Jim sighed and looked to be battling with himself, he folded his arms across his chest like she had, set his jaw to match hers, and glared at her just as darkly as she had done to him, Melinda could see nothing but love through the ferocious scowl and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly as he stepped forward, seeing him struggle to keep the serious expression on his face pushed Melinda over the edge and the glare soon faded but quickly morphed back to hurt, Jim dropped the charade and held his hands out to Melinda, she smacked one of them away with a pretty good effort, enough to raise Jim's eyebrows. Jim tried again and she smacked him even harder, he chuckled at her delicate 'girl punches' and Melinda grabbed his wrists, "I'm sorry Melinda, really I am, but we were scared and we didn't have a choice, I know it bothers you that everyone was there, but think about it honey, if Chris or I weren't there and something like that happened to you, wouldn't you want to know that somebody knows how to look after you?" he asked, Melinda laced her fingers with his and pulled him closer so that they're hands were resting on Jim's chest, she leaned her head against him and sighed with a small nod. "Christopher didn't mean to upset you Melinda, he is _so_ scared that something could happen to you and he won't be there, it terrifies him to think that when you go out, you might not be near someone who knows what to do for you if you get sick, ever since you decided to enrol in school he's been fretting about you being there alone, he's informed the teachers of what needs to be done but it's not enough for him. He loves you Melinda, and he wishes that he could wrap you up in cotton wool and carry you around in his pocket for the rest of your life, but he knows that you need your freedom and he respects that. No matter how much he may step on your toes, never forget that" Jim cupped Melinda's face in both hands and wiped her tears away "I understand exactly how he feels, because I love you too. I wish I could keep you in my arms forever and never let you go, I hate the idea that pretty soon we're going to be apart every day and I won't be there to protect you, but I respect your decision to go to school and I'll look forward to you coming home every day, please answer Melinda...why did you do it? Why did you hide your food and pretend like everything was okay?" he asked, Melinda stiffened in his arms and gave her head a slight shake, "will you eat something now? I promise, it will be just the two of us, up here, me and you...and maybe we could put that massage oil to use again after..." he trailed off suggestively; Melinda rolled her eyes at the bribe but nodded nonetheless.

"French toast?" Melinda smiled and nodded, Jim frowned "we're not on speaking terms anymore?" he asked with a pout, Melinda raised an eyebrow with a pout and shook her head, "you sure?" he asked running his hands up and down her sides, Melinda shook her head again and bit her lip, Jim kissed her chin and glanced at her questioningly but she shook her head again, Jim gripped her hips and lifted her up to his level enveloping her in his strong arms before kissing her passionately, Melinda moaned quietly into the kiss and he smiled "that's better" he whispered, he set Melinda down on the floor and smiled smugly at her happily dazed expression before heading down the stairs. Melinda headed to the bathroom for a quick shower while Jim ran back downstairs, everyone was sitting sombrely around the unlit fire and they all looked up when Jim came down, "is she...?" Holly trailed off uncertainly, Jim nodded "she won't talk to me, but she's okay and she agreed to eat some French toast if I take it up and we eat alone, that's progress, right?" Christopher smiled "I don't know how you're doing this Jim, I know you don't particularly like talking yourself, and I know it's hard for you to be close to people, so I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see you helping her, to see her turning to you for comfort, it's a beautiful thing Jim, and I thank God that you've grown up so well because without you, I honestly don't know what we'd do about Melinda, she can't even stand to be in the same room-" he stopped with a watery sigh and rubbed at his eyes.

Jim shook his head "she loves you, and she's grateful for everything that you guys do, but she's scared, it's not your fault, just give her time" Jim gave a comforting nod before heading to the kitchen, halfway through his cooking Christopher came in "I think you should let Melinda have a nap once she's eaten, we're gonna head out onto the trail at around five, pack enough stuff for two nights and we'll stop by here on Wednesday" he said, Jim nodded "you want some?" he asked towards the food, Christopher nodded "you read my mind my man!" he cheered, Jim chuckled "go ask everyone else" he replied with an eye roll, he was, without a doubt, the best cook in the house. Christopher came back a couple of minutes later, "just me and Holly, thanks Jim" he gave him a pat on the shoulder and took the two plates which had already been dished up. Holly and Mitch had disappeared to their room as had Alexis and John, now it was just Olivia and Christopher curled up watching the news while Jim worked in the kitchen.

A noise so quiet he almost didn't hear it, but as he spun around and found Melinda standing in the kitchen doorway he smiled, she was in her bathrobe with damp curls bouncing around her face , she smiled at him before walking into his open arms and burying her face in his chest, "I love you _so_ much baby" Jim said sincerely, Melinda pulled back and bit her lip, she placed her hand over her heart with a smile then touched it gently to his chest holding it over his own heart. Jim smiled at the gesture and dipped down to kiss her softly, Melinda could taste the sugar from the mixture on his lips and smiled. Jim finished up and Melinda picked up the bowl of cream that he had hand-whipped, she looked at him questioningly with her finger poised over the bowl and he nodded happily, Melinda dipped her finger in and licked the cream off with a contented smile which Jim returned, she did it again but held her finger out to Jim, he drew it into his mouth and sucked it clean and when Melinda went to pull it back he clamped his teeth down softly and sucked harder so she couldn't move, he dipped his finger in the cream and held it out to Melinda who happily copied him. They were now in a stand-off, who would let go first? they eyed each other challengingly until Melinda dipped her other hand's fingers into the bowl and smeared the cream across Jim's face, he chuckled and let go of her fingers so she smiled triumphantly and let him go too, Jim served their French toast onto a plate and Melinda grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge as well as the bowl of cream and followed Jim upstairs.

They settled on the bed and Melinda eyed the food warily, "Melinda, _please_" Jim pleaded worriedly, Melinda had tears in her eyes as she stared at the plate, she reached out for a piece toast and turned away from Jim, quietly she nibbled an edge of it until Jim finally couldn't take any more, he reached out for Melinda, still not facing him, and lifted her with strong arms, he pulled her back so she was sitting on his lap like a little child and pulled the barely touched toast from her hands. Jim pulled off a piece and dipped it into the cream before holding it to Melinda's lips which were pressed together in a mischievous smirk, Jim bit a piece off himself "see, not so bad" he whispered, Melinda surprised him by grabbing the piece from his hand and taking a huge chunk out of it with a stubborn expression on her face which made Jim chuckle, Melinda chewed it animatedly with wide eyes and a bobbing head which had Jim on his back laughing harder than he had in years, harder than he had since before his parents died. Melinda loved watching the beautiful blush across his cheeks and his muscular chest shake with breathless laughter, she carried on while feeding him bits in between but he was finding it hard to eat through his laughter, Jim ended up with tears rolling down his cheeks and a whipped cream beard and moustache. "Thank you...for making me laugh, that's something that even _I_ haven't been able to do properly for a while" he said with a smile, Melinda slowly kissed the cream off his face before resting her forehead against his and closing her eyes.

"I'm gonna get in the shower, have some water okay?" Jim said as he stood up, Melinda nodded and kissed him happily before he walked into the bathroom, she sat down at the wood framed dresser mirror and pulled her tiny hairdryer from her toiletry bag.

It was only fifteen minutes later when Melinda finished drying her hair and let it fall in soft waves around her face, she dressed in a lacy black satin camisole with matching shorts while Jim emerged from the bathroom with his hair in adorable wet curls falling over his eyes in some places, his bare chest glistened with beads of crystal water and a towel hung low on his hips, Melinda watched in the dresser mirror how the muscles in his back rippled while he walked. Unable to tear her eyes away, she pictured herself running her hands over those muscles- not like before when she had been massaging him or when she simply wanted to touch his beauty, but in a much more passionate way...a sexual way- she imagined feeling those muscles ripple beneath her hands as she held onto Jim's broad shoulders while he kissed her deeply, she would lightly run her fingernails over his flawless skin and watch as he shivered in delight...-her fantasy was cut short when Jim caught her gaze in the mirror "I love you Jim..." she whispered "...I love you more than I've ever loved anything or _anyone_ before in my life". Jim smiled in pleasant surprise at hearing her voice and leaned down to kiss her hotly –_what I wouldn't give to have you Jim, all of you-_ images flashed quickly through her mind and she bit her lip as they pulled apart, "I love you too baby".

"Chris said we have time to take a nap if you want, you wanna watch a movie?" he asked seemingly unaware of her lusty thoughts, Melinda smiled questioningly wondering how he had planned ahead so well, "I figured the weather might be a little nasty at some point" Jim tossed her a circular zip-up case full of DVD's in plastic sleeves, "I haven't seen any of them yet" Jim informed her as he changed into a pair of black boxer shorts and a stripy t-shirt in different shades of red, Melinda nodded and held one up, he smiled "sure", she stuck it in the DVD player while Jim dried his hair and closed the curtains against the bright midday sun, Melinda snuggled down under the covers shivering against the cold fabric before Jim joined her and pulled her into his arms. As the movie went on Melinda was becoming increasingly nervous, every now and then the couple on the movie would kiss in a way that her and Jim never had- their tongues dancing wildly together as they moaned and writhed- and a thrill would shoot through her stomach, Jim didn't seem to notice her reaction to these scenes-or at least he hadn't mentioned it, Melinda's breathing became a little shallower when the couple began to undress each other hastily, she tried to avert her eyes but found herself unable to, she pictured her and Jim doing the same thing, Jim pulling her lacy top over her head and throwing it over his shoulder like the guy on TV. Her hands would slide under his t-shirt and she would bring it up over his head slowly then let it fall to the floor in a cotton puddle, she could practically feel Jim's hands roaming over her body and was unable to suppress the tiny moan which escaped her lips but it sounded more like a sigh anyway so she didn't worry.

Jim, however, seemed to know exactly what she was thinking about and stared down into her eyes to confirm his suspicions, he lay his hand on her stomach pulling her closer so that her back was against one side of his chest, Melinda rested her head back on him as his fingers gently explored the exposed skin between her top and shorts, shivers followed his tender touch and Melinda pressed her back to him harder silently asking for more, Jim slipped his fingers under the hem of her top and the movie was abandoned by both of them as he spread his hand over her stomach, his cool palm caressing soft circles on her skin. As his hand moved higher and higher the thin black satin was pulled up with it, exposing her impossibly flat stomach, Jim glanced at her questioningly when his fingers grazed the bottom of her bra, she threw one hand back and pulled Jim's neck down to kiss him, as he gently explored her mouth his hand continued the journey up until it found its destination and Melinda found herself unable to think anymore, her mouth opened beneath Jim's and he took the opportunity to push a little further. Melinda moaned at the double sensation and gasped when Jim began to kiss her like the people on TV had kissed each other –like she had dreamed, his tongue moved without hesitation as his hands went around to her back to turn her to him and pull her on top, without breaking their kiss Melinda was then straddling his waist with his arms wrapped tightly enough around her that she couldn't move but not so tight that it hurt.

Melinda decided bravely to explore Jim's body with her delicate hands, as they moved lower Melinda froze- she could feel what she was doing to him, "should we....? I mean, do you need to...?" she asked nervously as her cheeks flushed crimson, in an instant she was gently moved off of him and her vest pulled back down, she gasped at the sudden distance and Jim turned to her with a troubled expression, "we should get some sleep, we'll be leaving soon" he said softly. Melinda tried to calm the nerves that were creeping up on her, insecurities and low self-esteem making her think that she must of done something wrong, her cheeks reddened even more in embarrassment "sorry, I guess I don't really know what I'm doing" she murmured sadly as she pushed herself under the covers and turned away to curl up on the furthest edge of the bed. "It's just not a good idea, what we want changes by the second" he said softly, -_meaning that he wants me right now but he's not sure if he'll want me much longer so why waste his time- _Melinda's face crumpled and the corners of her mouth turned down as hot tears sprang from her eyes, Jim reached out and tugged the curtain shut plunging them into near total darkness "come here" he whispered, Melinda sighed quietly, unable to disguise its teary sound, "are you crying?!" Jim asked in horror, he jumped up and crawled to the edge of the bed where Melinda lay in a tight little ball "no" she grumbled stubbornly.

Jim pulled her onto her back and sighed "liar" he mumbled while wiping the tears from her cheeks, "m'sorry" Melinda whispered while avoiding his gaze, Jim stared at her incredulously "why on earth would you be sorry?" he asked, "because I'm an awful girlfriend, I'm so stupid that I can't even do _that_ stuff right, I understand Jim, it's okay, you don't have to pretend for my benefit. Like you said...what we want changes by the second, but I guess that only applies to one of us...and it isn't me" she said quietly, Jim shook his head "Melinda, I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't mean that I don't know what _I_ want, I was just saying that you need to be completely sure of what _you_ want, I don't want us to do anything that you'll regret later, I won't hurt you that way". Melinda turned with a furrowed brow "what are you talking about?" she asked confusedly, "I'm just saying that _you_ asked _me_ if _I_ needed to....you know..-you weren't thinking about what _you_ want or need, you would make that decision based on how _I_ feel. That isn't the right reason, you may think that it's nice to make me happy, but I won't ever let you do that at your own expense, when the time is right _you'll _know, until then...I'm here, I'm here with _you_, that should tell you that you're not an awful girlfriend Melinda, you're _not_" Jim began kissing Melinda's neck as he spoke "You're beautiful" kiss "funny" kiss "sweet" kiss "kind" kiss "beautiful" kiss "amazing" kiss "caring" kiss "beautiful" kiss "gentle" kiss "smart" his mouth reached hers and he kissed her passionately "...and did I mention beautiful?" he asked breathlessly as he pulled away, Melinda smiled shyly and her cheeks burned, "I'm sorry, I just thought that you meant-" Melinda was cut off by Jim pressing a finger to her lips "ssssh" he whispered, Melinda nodded and smiled under his finger, he removed it and kissed her softly before pulling her into his arms and throwing the thick comforter over both of them.

"Never doubt my love for you, even when I do something that neither of us particularly like, it will only be because I think it's best for you...because I love you" Jim pulled Melinda up to his level and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, "I love you too" Melinda replied before pressing her lips to his softly, "sleep well my love" Jim whispered into her ear before brushing his fingers over her eyes to close them, Melinda smiled and buried her head into the curve of his neck happily breathing in his clean scent, "I'll always be here" Jim whispered. Melinda smiled "does it bother you when I don't want to talk?" she asked softly, Jim shook his head "it doesn't bother me because I understand, remember what Livvy told you when you first came here? She told you that we had something profound in common, that neither of us were particularly vocal...she wasn't kidding, after my parents died I shut myself off from everyone, I could go for weeks without saying a word to anybody, just like you. Different reasons, same outcome, the whole family is shocked that I even know _how_ to have a conversation, before you came I barely said two words to anybody except for Mitch. I know it sounds strange, but knowing that you understand what it's like to not want to speak to anyone, to not want your voice to be heard, it makes me feel so much more comfortable talking to you, do you understand?"

Melinda nodded "it's like you finally found someone who doesn't expect you to do it, who isn't disappointed every time you just nod or shake your head instead of voicing your opinions, and because you know they understand you completely, you can trust them, you can be open with them. But I don't want you to think that when I don't want to talk it means that I don't trust you, it just means that I'm dealing with things my way for a while, I find it a little easier to cope when I don't have to worry about the way I sound or if I'm saying the right thing, I try my hardest when I'm with you because I know it _must_ frustrate you, even a little, but-" "no..." Jim cut her off "I don't want you to do that Melinda, you don't have to try, you don't have to prove anything to me. I love you, all of you, silence included. Don't ever feel like you have to talk to me, and in return, understand that sometimes it will be the same for me, sometimes I might not want to either and it's not because of you, like you said; it's just a way of dealing with things for a while" he kissed her head and she hugged him tightly, "I love you" she whispered as tiredness became hard to ignore, "Melinda, I love you too" he whispered back with a smile as sleep claimed him.

Pweeease Review xx Lolly xx MAJOR PLOT TWIST AHEAD.....YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!! YES KAILEY, IT's GETTING CLOSER, I WILL EXPLAIN TO EVRYONE BEFORE I POST!! xxxxxxxxxxxx


	29. Chapter 29

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

Let me explain....I've split this in a way that this chapter's really rushed, but the next one is where the drama starts, I had already written the huge plotline and just needed a way to get from A to B...you know what I mean? Anyhow, forgive me for the hurried writing but I really didn't want to write for ages when I had such a huge thing coming up .....you'll see soon enough x I'll update again this evening xx Pweease leave a review xx

"This is IT!!!" Olivia squealed, they had been hiking for over an hour and just found the small clearing, an almost perfect circle, where they were going to camp, Melinda set her rucksack down and plopped down on top of it tiredly, "you okay baby?" Jim asked, she nodded and sighed contentedly, they had set out just before the sun began to set so they were now in near total darkness, "boys, come give me a hand with the tents, girls, will you go fill up the pots with water?" Christopher asked politely, everyone agreed and set off on their tasks, Holly grumbled about her stomach ache the whole way there "it's just not fair! This always happens to _me!_ Damn mother nature" she huffed, her period had come a few days early and she was convinced that it had completely ruined the trip. "Yeah, sucks" Melinda said distantly, she wished she had the same problem, but no, she hadn't had her cycle for months and the doctors said that it probably wouldn't come back unless she got better, Melinda knew what it meant, if she didn't get better then she would never be able to have children of her own. "What about you?" Holly asked, Melinda snapped out of her musings "huh?" she asked "when are you due?", Melinda suddenly became fascinated with the ground "I uh, I don't have...not anymore" she said quietly, Holly looked like she wanted to kill herself for bringing it up "Mel, I'm sorry" she whispered, Melinda shook her head "I'm okay, it's fine" an awkward silence fell over the girls until Alexis squeaked loudly, Melinda peered back into the darkness and burst into laughter, Alexis was flat out on her back looking completely bemused, "what happened?" Olivia asked through her own laughter "rocks" Alexis grumbled as Holly pulled her up. They found the water pumps and filled up their pots carrying them back carefully, Christopher and the boys had already pitched the tents and had a steady fire burning.

"Were having pasta and meat sauce" John announced proudly as he and Mitch poured pasta into pots and left them to boil, Jim disappeared into the tent to finish laying out the sleeping bags and blankets, Melinda held a hand to her throbbing head "Holly, could I have a drink please?" she asked softly so only Holly could hear, she was getting herself a can of soda and handed one to Melinda with a frown "you're not feeling good" she whispered speculatively, Melinda shook her head "you have to tell someone Melinda" she whispered, Melinda shook her head again with a pleading look and pointed to the can in her hand, Holly nodded reluctantly, "okay, but if it gets worse, you_ have_ to tell" she warned lovingly, Melinda smiled and kissed her on the cheek surprising her and bringing a smile to her rosy cheeks. Melinda gulped down the can of almost pure sugar and sighed "you're feeling ill" came Alexis' knowing voice, Melinda shook her head "I'm fine, just thirsty" she lied, Alexis rolled her eyes "you're not fooling anyone Melinda, you don't have to pretend for us, we know it's hard" she said kindly, Melinda smiled "I promise, I'm fine" she grinned a wide fake smile and bounced to her tent "Clancy?" she called, Jim popped out of the tent and pulled Melinda in, she squealed as she landed in his lap barely managing to keep the can in her hand from spilling, Jim took the can from her and rested it down pulling her head to his and kissing her deeply, Melinda's heart fluttered and she bit her lip as they pulled away "wow" she whispered, Jim smiled and kissed her again, Melinda wrapped her arms around his neck and shivered as a cool breeze blew through the tent, Jim held her tight and kissed her neck, "I love you babe" he whispered against her skin, "mmm...I love you too" Melinda moaned quietly.

Dinner was served soon after, once they had all finished, except for Melinda who hadn't even eaten half of hers, everyone crawled into their tents and fell asleep quickly after the long day they'd had.

On Wednesday Melinda woke up feeling a little worse but still hadn't told anyone, she could handle it herself. They decided to spend the morning taking a short hike up to a beautiful view point before having a picnic lunch on the beach, Melinda hadn't eaten anything, much to Jim's chagrin, though everyone else seemed to understand that she needed to be left to do it in her own time, the rest of the day was spent lounging around the campsite until the girls worked to prepare a stir-fry supper for everyone, so far Melinda hadn't eaten anything at all...

"No" she replied again, Jim sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose like Christopher often did, he didn't understand why she had stopped trying, she seemed to have been doing so well, "Melinda" a warning tone that reminded her of a father and only frustrated her further, "I said no" she replied angrily before throwing the piece of sandwich back into its plastic box. Jim glared down at it but kept his mouth shut, Melinda had made a fuss over her medication that morning doing everything she could to postpone the inevitable, Jim knew that something had changed, Melinda didn't seem to feel safe anymore, she seemed nervous and jumpy and trembled a little every time Jim touched her.

The rest of dinner was more of the same until Melinda gave in and ate a few small bites but it was not enough to please anyone, they climbed into their tent and lay down tiredly, Melinda changed quickly into a long sleeved t-shirt and sweat pants and Jim did the same, "Melinda, is something bothering you?" Jim asked softly, Melinda froze "uh...no" she said after a moment, Jim sighed "let me hold you" he whispered, Melinda shuffled even closer so that their bodies were pressed together and Jim wrapped his arms around her protectively, "tell me the truth babe" he whispered, "tomorrow...tomorrow I'm expected to celebrate my birthday without my mom and dad here, I don't think I can do that Jim, I really don't" she whispered back tearfully, it all clicked into place in Jim's mind, everything made sense "oh honey, nobody's expecting you to. It's going to be a hard and emotional day for you, everyone knows that, you don't have to fake it for us, I'll be here to hold your hand and wipe your tears away if it gets too hard" he said softly stroking a single tear from her cheek. Melinda looked up at him with gratitude and squeezed his hand "sweet dreams baby, I love you" he said softly kissing Melinda, she smiled against him, "I love you too".

Thursday morning...

Jim's arms tightened around Melinda and she let the tears fall onto his chest, "ssshhh, you're okay Mel, I'm here" he comforted, she let out a quiet sob and held onto his shirt tighter, she had been having nightmares ever since she fell asleep, Melinda nodded tiredly and closed her eyes.

_**-**__**Mom, dad, I'm hom-" BANG…BANG Melinda let out a scream and ran toward the front room, A tall burly man bolted past her and pushed her aside, he was followed by a smaller man with a dark cap on, a muscular and intimidating looking man came next "well, well, well…what do we have here?" he asked with a sneer, "pretty little one huh?" he ran a finger across Melinda's lips and smiled when she tried to shrink away from him, before she knew what was happening she was being carried out of her house by one of the men, there were four others that she could see**__. __**"What are you doing!? MOM! DADDY!! HEL-" a large fist flew into her face and her head snapped back, "shut it kid" the man growled, Melinda cried quietly as she was carried to a huge van, "where are you taking me?" she whimpered, "somewhere far away, real far"-**_

"Mel, you're shaking" Jim whispered, he sat up and pulled Melinda onto his lap, she was still half asleep and her head fell limply against him before she jolted awake, "hey, you're okay, it was just a bad dream" Jim said softly, Melinda rested her head against him and closed her eyes, "you wanna talk about it?" he asked, Melinda shook her head slightly

_**-"Happy birthday dear Melinda, Happy birthday to you! Hip hip....hoooray, hip hip....hoooray!"-**_

Melinda shook her mother's sweet voice and her father's out of tune bellowing from her mind, she wiped hot tears from her cheeks and shuddered against Jim, he pulled a blanket around the two of them and held her close "you're hurting" he whispered knowingly, he took Melinda's hand in his and kissed it. Melinda smiled through her tears and turned so she was straddling Jim's lap before laying her head on his shoulder and relaxing as he stroked her hair. "Melinda, don't hold back, just let yourself feel" Jim whispered into her ear before kissing her neck softly, Melinda pulled his head back from him gently before crashing her lips to his, after a while they got their clothes together and walked down to the showers, Melinda dressed in baby blue Hollister shorts riding low on her hips, a dark blue close fitting tank which barely met her shorts waistband and her knee high Timberland boots. Jim dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans with gray Vans and a gray t-shirt, "Melinda, they're gonna say it" Jim said softly, Melinda nodded, she knew that everyone would want to wish her happy birthday but was grateful that Jim had left her be. "Mel! Happy BIRTHDAY!!!!!" came Holly's excited squeak, Jim reached out and took Melinda's hand in his own "I'm here" he said softly, Melinda nodded and plastered on a fake smile, "thanks!" she chirped back, Holly smiled widely "we have to go open presents, I know what Olivia got you!!!!" she grabbed Melinda's other hand and pulled her back to the camp with Jim jogging behind.

..........

"Are you sure?" Olivia asked, Jim nodded towards Melinda who was sitting cross-legged and softly strumming on her guitar, "I think so" he whispered distantly. Melinda had been acting happy-go lucky all day as the birthday celebrations tortured her, she really was touched by everyone's gifts, Olivia had bought her a brand new customized acoustic guitar-knowing from Lisa that Melinda often played to relax, she had also gotten Melinda a beautiful gold charm bracelet with 10 charms already picked out for her- a treble clef with an eighth-note on either side of it, a pair of diamond-studded dice, a tiny Mickey mouse, a large diamond heart, an octave of piano keys, an electric guitar, a Chinese symbol for 'strength', a single long-stemmed rose, a sparkling surf board and an 'M' bordered by tiny diamonds. Christopher had bought her a matching necklace with her name hanging from a delicate gold chain, it was bordered with small diamonds to match the charms, he had also gotten her a surprise gift which would be waiting at home for her but wouldn't give any details as to what it was, Mitch and Alexis had bought Melinda the new IPhone along with various charms for her bracelet, Holly and John had bought her a new laptop to replace the one she'd had to leave behind along with a huge can of purple glittery paint to colour her door back at home and make it her own as they all had. Jim had promised not to even say happy birthday let alone give her a gift so he decided he would wait until they got some time alone. Everything had been going okay for the day as Melinda had been hiding her true feelings, she was really falling apart, Jim could see it in her eyes even though she denied it, at one point during an informal kind of speech Christopher had mentioned how proud Melinda's mom and dad would be of her working to put her life back together-that was where it all fell apart. The tears hadn't stopped flowing since then, Melinda had politely refused every offer of company and group activity and instead had opted to sit alone with her guitar softly playing various songs. At first everyone had stopped to listen in awe but eventually dispersed so as not to make her uncomfortable.

Jim had told Olivia that he was going to take Melinda back to the cabin and stay there for the night while everyone else camped out again, he hadn't asked Melinda yet but thought it would probably be best.

"Okay then honey, you'll take care of her and call if you need us?" Olivia asked, Jim nodded "love you" he gave her a kiss on the cheek and squeezed her cheek reassuringly "love you to honey, tell Mel I wanna say goodbye to her" she headed back to the huge tent that was being used as a kind of 'lounge' to tell everyone. "Mel..." Jim said softly, her fingers faltered on the strings and silence deafened him "I was thinking, maybe we should go back to the cabin for the night, just us", Melinda nodded without turning to him, Jim kneeled down and gently pulled the guitar from her hands, she kept her eyes fixed on the ground as Jim easily lifted her and pulled her into his lap, "everything's gonna be okay Melinda, I promise you, you're not alone" Melinda sighed and wiped her eyes tiredly, "you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I never wanna let you go" she whispered, Jim smiled and brought his face to hers slowly kissing her, "ahem!" Christopher loudly cleared his throat, "before you guys get too far into your tonsil hockey...I just wanted to ask you to give us a call before bed time so that we know you're okay, Melinda- if you're not feeling good I want you to call me okay, even if Jim can handle it, you still let me know baby, okay?"

Melinda smiled and nodded, "kay...dad" she said softly, Christopher opened his arms and Melinda hugged him tightly, "love you kiddo" he said kissing the top of her head, Melinda looked up at him and smiled "I..I love you too" she replied gently, "Mel, will we see you in the morning? We can go for our second surfing lesson" Holly said hopefully, Melinda smiled "sure, not too early, I think poor Mitch is gonna be unconscious for a while after this" she joked, he had been running around the camps assault course all morning then spent the afternoon with John chopping wood for the night's fire. "love you!!" Holly and Alexis squealed at the same time as they grabbed Melinda into a group hug, "love...you...tooO" Melinda squeaked a word every time she got a chance between the squeezes. The rest of the goodbyes followed and soon Melinda was laying on her stomach on their bed as Jim massaged her, "thank you Jim, for everything, I needed this, some time to just think...to just be together" she said quietly, "I thought you might, you did a good job though...quite the little actress" he complimented sounding impressed as he worked her lower back, Melinda chuckled "I did study performance for six years..." she chuckled. Melinda bit her lip as Jim's smooth hands trailed down her back, her stomach was doing little somersaults and she couldn't think straight, Jim smiled "am I distracting you?" he asked smugly Jim smiled "am I distracting you?" he asked smugly, Melinda nodded "that obvious?", "you stop breathing every time my hands move" he said kissing the back of her neck, Melinda smiled "my heart's going crazy she admitted as she rolled onto her back and sat up, Jim took her hand and pressed it to his own chest, "mine too" Melinda smiled at his racing heartbeat and kissed him deeply, "I'm gonna jump in the shower, you wanna watch a movie?" she asked, Jim smiled "sure, I'll set it up before you're done" Melinda kissed him one more time and disappeared into the bathroom......

THIS STORY IS RATED 'M', THE NEXT PART OF THE CHAPTER SERIOUSLY LIVES UP TO THAT RATING.......GRAB SOME ICE, THINGS ARE ABOUT TO HEAT UP......HOLD ON TIGHT ...............

* * *

"Can I _please_ say it now?" Jim asked softly, Melinda came out of the bathroom in her panties and a towel, she sighed as she rummaged through her suitcase "no" she mumbled as she pulled her pyjamas out and threw them at his head giggling when her short fell over his face, Jim chuckled and let them rest in his lap "I have something for you, please let me say it" he pleaded, Melinda smiled "you didn't have to.." "I know, I wanted to" Jim cut her off, Melinda twisted her towel around her body to make it stay up then sat down on the bed next to Jim, "okay...you can say it" she said softly, "...but first, can I ask you something?" she asked. "You can ask me anything you want" he replied, "please don't laugh at me", "I never would honey" he replied honestly "I understand what you said before, but I really want to know....do you want us to be together?...Like _together_ together?" she asked softly with her eyes avoiding his, Jim curled his pointer finger under her chin and ran his thumb over her bottom lip slowly lifting her face to his. "Of course I do, but I don't want that to be the deciding factor in this, you can't take my opinion into account because I want this to be _your _decision, I love you and _I want you, _I always will. Whenever you decide to do this, I'll make sure that you know that Melinda..." Jim slid his hand around to the back of her neck and ran his fingers through the soft hair there "I'll make sure that you know you're loved, and you always will be" he whispered before gently kissing her forehead "what made you bring it up now?" he asked curiously.

Melinda blushed crimson "I uh...you wouldn't understand" she said quietly "try me" Jim insisted, "I have these feelings for you...feelings that I've never had before and I want ...to be around you all the time and..... I feel this _need_, like I need you..._all_ of you" she admitted with her eyes downcast, "look at me" Jim whispered "I may know more about _that_ than you think, I feel it too and of course I understand...I need you too" he said softly, Melinda looked up into his eyes and smiled "I love you", "I love you too, so can I say it?" he asked. Melinda nodded "happy birthday" Jim said with a smile, "thank you", Jim handed her a small cube shaped gift with sparkly purple paper and a pink bow, she unwrapped it carefully to reveal a purple velvet ring box, she opened it slowly and gasped. "Jim.." she whispered in amazement, inside was a band of sparkling diamonds with no border, as the light from the setting sun hit them they threw beautiful rainbows out in every direction, "it's an eternity ring, I know people usually get them when they're married or they have a kid but there are no specific rules, it has the same meaning though, I'm here to stay Melinda...I'll never stop loving you...you're mine and I'm yours" he whispered. Melinda had tears running in her eyes as she pulled the ring out, looking at the inside of the platinum band she read a delicate inscription 'my true love, I'm yours forever' "thank you...thank you so much...oh my god.._thank you" _Melinda said sincerely, then all of a sudden something clicked into place "is this why Holly had me trying on her entire ring collection?" she asked disbelievingly remembering the day before when Holly had insisted that Melinda borrow a ring so they could match, "I asked her for a little help, I didn't know how to get the size right without giving up the secret" he admitted.

Jim gently took the ring from her and reached out for her left hand, "is this okay?" he asked holding her ring finger between two of his, Melinda was unable to speak and so just nodded, Jim slid the ring onto her finger and kissed it lightly, "forever" Melinda whispered through her tears, "and then some" Jim joked, she laughed tearfully and took a deep breath, Jim wiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her slowly, Melinda traced his bottom lip with her tongue before exploring his mouth completely, all reservations be damned. Jim moaned into the kiss and Melinda wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and straddled his lap needing to be as close to him as she possibly could, one of Jim's arms went around her waist and the other reached up so he could hold the back of her neck "m'yours" Melinda murmured against his lips as she unfastened the towel from around her and let it fall, "as I am yours" Jim replied breathlessly as he pulled back to look at her properly "god Melinda, you're so beautiful" he said sincerely, she responded by yanking his t-shirt over his head surprising both of them with her speed. Jim trailed his fingers over the naked skin of her shoulders before peppering kisses along her collar bone so lightly that it was like a feather's touch, Melinda lay down slowly pulling Jim with her, she gasped at the feeling of his bare chest against hers and he smiled, "I love you" he said quietly, "I love you too" she replied.

Melinda hitched one leg over Jim's back as he let more of his weight rest on her and his hardness pressed into her which caused her to arch her back into him and grab his broad shoulders just as she had envisioned it, Jim ducked his head under hers and kissed her neck passionately, Melinda threw her head back to give him better access and Jim gently bit down on her soft skin. Melinda tangled one hand in his messy hair and held his head there as he continued his sweet ministrations "Jim" she breathed as he kissed a trail back to her lips, Melinda kissed him back with fire and wrapped her other leg around his back and linked it with the first "we don't have to-" Jim began "I _want_ to" Melinda whispered before biting her lip. Jim nodded and held her face between his hands "are you sure?" he asked searching her eyes for any kind of doubt, Melinda smiled and placed her hands over his "I've never been so sure of anything in my life."

Jim smiled down at Melinda and ran his thumb across her bottom lip, she smiled and he slid his hand between them slowly setting her heart fluttering in her chest and leaving a burning trail everywhere he touched, "just remember, you can say stop at any time if you want to" he whispered as his hand disappeared under her satin panties, she nodded distantly as Jim began gently stroking her. Melinda moaned and grabbed onto Jim's shoulders even tighter "please" she pleaded softly "tell me what you want" Jim whispered as he continued teasing her with light touches "harder" Melinda whispered, "I didn't hear you" he continued with his maddeningly light ministrations with a satisfied smirk "tell me" he said against her lips, "harder, please Jim, harder!" Melinda cried. Jim nodded and claimed her lips in a heavy and forceful kiss as he pressed harder, Melinda kissed his neck as his hand moved against her and suddenly Jim picked up the pace, Melinda moaned against his skin, her breathing became shallow and one hand left his shoulder to hold his head to hers so she could kiss him passionately, when Jim saw that Melinda was close, he bit down on her bottom lip lightly and she arched her back off of the bed, her hands dropped by her sides and she grabbed fistfuls of the pale blue sheets, "Jim!" her moan was covered by Jim's mouth as he pressed his lips to hers, she fell back onto the bed and attempted to catch her breath as Jim held her to his chest and kissed her neck. "Wow..." Melinda whispered breathlessly, Jim gave her a heart-stopping smile and kissed her chest as he slid her panties slowly down her legs.

"Are you ready?" Jim whispered, Melinda gazed at him with lust filled eyes and nodded, "that was amazing" she breathed, he smiled at her and pressed gentle kisses from her stomach to her mouth, Melinda shuffled down under him and slipped her hands into his boxer shorts, she ran her fingers slowly from base to tip soliciting a low hiss from Jim's chest, she pulled his shorts down and he threw them aside. Jim used his forearms to support his weight and Melinda held onto his upper arms, "I love you" Jim whispered as he entered her slowly, Melinda arched her back and bit her lip "I love....you...too" she whispered between moans, Jim smiled down at her and kissed her gently pulling her bottom lip from between her teeth, "are you okay?" Jim asked, Melinda smiled and lifted her hips to his throwing one leg over his back "I want you Jim" she whispered into his ear, Jim growled lowly and began thrusting into her, Melinda threw her head back and circled her hips in time with him causing him to moan loudly. "Jim" Melinda moaned as he sucked the skin of her neck, he smiled at her and trailed one hand down her side, Melinda dragged her nails lightly across Jim's back and he kissed her neck harder as he picked up the pace, "you feel so good baby" Jim mumbled as Melinda threw her other leg over his back and linked her ankles. Melinda began arching her back to meet Jim's thrusts and her mouth opened in a silent moan as Jim moved against her harder, A light sheen of sweat glistened over Jim's rippling muscles and Melinda trailed her fingers down his back slowly then up again, she threw her arms back and let them fall beside her head, Jim smiled down at her and dipped his head to kiss her softly, Melinda's mouth opened beneath his and he deepened the kiss, Melinda moaned into his mouth and he felt the muscles in his stomach tighten.

"You're making me so damn hot!" Melinda moaned as she arched her back against him knowing that she couldn't hold on much longer, Jim nibbled and sucked her lip, using only one hand to support himself he brought his other hand around to her back and held her tightly against his chest, Melinda held back onto his shoulders "just let go" she whispered into his ear biting his earlobe gently before throwing her head back, Jim gripped her waist and kissed her neck as he slammed into her, "Jim! Oh!...Jim!" Melinda screamed out his name as her body shuddered with pleasure, Jim followed only seconds later and Melinda grinded her hips against him.

Melinda moaned breathlessly, her body fell back to the bed as Jim collapsed on top of her, "uh huh" he replied breathlessly into her neck with a smile against her skin, Melinda kept her legs wrapped tightly around him with her ankles locked behind his back, "wow" she whispered "uh huh" he repeated, "amazing" she sighed, "uh huh", "you can't speak anymore?" she asked while tickling his sides, Jim wriggled with a laugh and Melinda moaned at the sensation. "I love you" Jim mumbled against Melinda's skin while sensually sucking and biting at her neck- a personal favourite for both of them, her hands travelled down his bare back then back up slowly until they were lost in his mussed hair and she lightly tugged on it as he moved. "Mmmm love you too, always" she replied with a moan "don't wanna move" Jim mumbled against her shoulder, "nobody's asking you to" Melinda gasped as he captured her lips in a forceful kiss, "God, Mel" he moaned into her mouth as her small hands tugged his hair gently, "you're sure I didn't hurt you?" Jim asked, Melinda giggled "Jim, I'm fine, I feel amazing" Melinda said honestly. Jim rolled over and pulled her up to his level- both of them groaning at the loss- and kissed her gently "me too" he whispered against her lips, his tongue plunged into her mouth and he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist so that her body was pressed against his. Melinda pulled her legs up either side of him and lost her fingers in his tousled hair.

PLEASE REVIEEEEEEEEEEW IT WAS NICE AND LONG, I'LL UPDATE SOOOOOOON XX


	30. Chapter 30

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

**I couldn't sleep so I figured I may as well make myself useful LOL**

Oooookay, this may be a lil unexpected, IM EVIL!!! muHAHAHAH....but you have to be open minded...please don't hate me.....*runs and hides under a rock*

They settled down after a while and Melinda curled up against Jim, "can we go somewhere?" she whispered so quietly that Jim couldn't hear, he tightened his arms around her lazily "huh?", "I...I want to go somewhere, we could have something to eat too" she mumbled, Jim kissed the top of her head softly, he knew not to make too much of a big deal of it in case it made Melinda uncomfortable, "that's good honey, what are you in the mood for?" he asked, Melinda shrugged "food?" she said unsurely, he chuckled "food huh?...I think we can manage that, come on" he pulled his boxer shorts on and handed Melinda his t-shirt, Melinda threw it on over her underwear and climbed out of the bed, Melinda pulled her suitcase out from underneath it and picked out some clothes. Jim did the same and five minutes later Melinda was wearing Jim's loose black hooded sweatshirt over a long hot pink tank top and tiny black 'Hollister' shorts and Jim was wearing a gray t-shirt over dark blue jeans, Melinda smiled at him before picking up her new guitar then bolted back down the stairs and out the front door, "where are we going?" Jim asked as Melinda led him down a winding path "I wanna show you something that I've never shown anyone else before" Melinda said softly.

Jim followed quietly until the smell of pizza floated his way, Melinda smiled "that's where we're going, for now anyway" they walked into a pizza parlour in a huge log cabin, the inside was made to look like an old diner with black and white chequered floors and neon signs, Melinda walked up to the counter and ordered a large pepperoni pizza "my favourite" Jim said with a smile, "I know, I remembered" Melinda replied raising to her tippy-toes and kissing his chin, they were given their pizza in a takeaway box and Melinda led Jim back into the cool evening. "It's not far from here, I promise" Melinda said as she picked her way through the trail, only a few minutes later and they were in front of another large cabin which had a sign outside which read 'Music Room 1' "you aren't gonna make me do karaoke are you?" Jim asked in horror as he held the heavy door open for Melinda, she inhaled deeply feeling tears spring to her eyes as she remembered all the summers she spent there with her father, the smell of newly polished wooden floors permeated the air and Melinda smiled, guitars lined the walls on stands and two grand piano's stood side by side at the end of the room.

"No karaoke" Melinda promised quietly, she pulled two chairs forward and Jim sat down with her, "play something" she said handing him the guitar, Jim raised an eyebrow "yes ma'am" he said with a salute and a chuckle, he gently began playing the intro to 'Bryan Adams-Heaven'. Melinda stood up and kissed the top of his head "keep playing" she whispered before walking over to sit at one of the sleek black grand pianos, she took in a deep breath then stroked the keys softly with expert fingers in time with Jim, his head whipped around and he watched her in shock, his fingers never faltering on the strings. Melinda's face was hidden behind the hood of the piano so Jim walked over to her slowly and sat on the bench backwards beside her "_oh thinking about our younger years_" Melinda sang sweetly, Jim leaned over and kissed her cheek gently.

"_there was only you and me, we were young and wild and free"_ Melinda picked up the volume a little and sang clearer, her voice pure and gentle "_now nothing can take you away from me, we've been down that road before, but that's over now...you keep me coming back for more" _Jim's velvety voice joined hers an octave lower and their perfect harmony rang through the cabin. "_Baby you're all that I want, when you're lying here in my arms, I'm finding it hard to believe we're in heaven. And love is all that I need and I found it there in your heart, it isn't too hard to see we're in heaven" _Melinda played the ending notes as her vision clouded with tears and Jim followed gently, he set the guitar down and swung around so he was facing the piano before pulling Melinda onto his lap and resting his chin on her head "I didn't know you could play the piano like that, it was beautiful" he said softly, Melinda leaned back against him and let her head rest on his shoulder "my dad.." a tearful lump formed in her throat and she paused for a second as Jim kissed the top of her head soothingly. "My dad started teaching me when I was just a baby, he would just sit me on his lap and let me watch while he played, he said he wanted to make sure it stuck, he tried teaching my mom but the furthest she ever got was 'chopsticks'" Melinda gave a sad chuckle as tears began to roll down her cheeks "when I was four he bought me a little keyboard and said...-he said.." Melinda's face crumpled and she covered her mouth with one hand. Jim stayed silent but turned Melinda around so that she was facing him, he wrapped his strong arms around her waist and she laid her head on his shoulder. "He told me that I was a big girl now and he would teach me to play just like him and he...he said that I didn't have to worry if I couldn't do it right away, because...because he would be there forever. He promised Jim, he promised that he would be here...and I know it's not their fault but I just wish that they were here, every morning I wake up and I think 'maybe today, maybe today I'll wake up and they'll be back', but it's never gonna happen...how am I meant to accept that? How I meant to be okay when I know that I'll never be with them again?" she whispered.

Jim pulled her back and wiped the tears from her cheeks before kissing each of them, "they'll always be a part of who you are, and they'll always be with you. It feels like you'll never be okay...and I'm not saying that it will ever go away completely, but it does get better, and knowing that you have people here who love you, _really_ love you, it make it that bit easier to wake up every morning and smile" he whispered, Melinda sighed and nodded "I love you, that means that you'll never be alone, even though they're not here, you're never alone" he kissed her head and she cupped his cheeks to pull him into a longer kiss "I love you too". A light dizziness washed over her and she shivered, "you okay?" Jim asked, Melinda's eyes had a glassy and unfocused look and she shook her head slowly, "shit! Melinda?!" Jim panicked, she nodded "I need a drink" she whispered, Jim jumped up and Melinda held onto him as he carried her over to where their food was, "drink this" Jim handed her a carton of juice and Melinda sipped it quickly, she lay her head on Jim's chest and sighed as her mind regained its focus. "Melinda, you need to keep on top of this illness, you can't leave it until you're about to pass out to eat something baby. Please, just try to have something tiny...or even some more drink, just so that you don't have to go through what happened earlier this week again, it's not safe" he whispered trying to keep the anger from his voice, the frustration he felt, Melinda didn't respond and Jim kissed her head "are you feeling better?" he asked, Melinda gave a small nod and he sighed "I didn't mean to upset you Mel, I'm just scared" he whispered. Melinda stood up and shook her head "I'm tired, I wanna go back" she said, Jim held her hand gently "let's eat first" he suggested, "no" Melinda said, she straddled his lap and kissed his neck knowing that it would scramble his thoughts "let's. Go. Back. To. Bed" she whispered between kisses, Jim nodded in a lust induced daze "bed, right...-no, wrong! no Melinda, I see what you're doing, wow, damn that's like...supernatural, I couldn't think straight..." he shook his head and wrapped his arms around her waist, "look, let's eat in here then we can go to bed an you can demonstrate that magical power of seduction you have" Jim slipped his warm hands under Melinda's tank top and pressed them to her cool skin, "we better eat quickly, I think I need to warm you up a little" he said with a suggestive smirk, Melinda smiled and kissed him.

.........................................................................................

"Melinda" Jim sighed in a warning tone, Melinda wiped tears from her eyes "I'm sorry" she whispered, they had been attempting dinner for half an hour, Jim had finished but Melinda had only managed half of a small slice of pizza, "eat this" Jim held a piece to her lips and she shook her head "please, I don't want to" she whimpered, "Melinda, you have to, come on" he held it there until she opened her mouth, Melinda chewed it reluctantly and swallowed with a frown, Jim repeated the same process despite Melinda's protests and tears, on the third chunk of pizza Melinda clamped a hand over her mouth "I'm gonna be sick" she whimpered before bolting to the girls bathroom, Jim hesitated at the sign but decided that he didn't care, it's not like there was anyone else there anyway. He rushed in but Melinda had locked the door of the cubicle she was in "Melinda? Are you okay?" he was answered with Melinda's quiet retching along with the occasional curse word. "Mel?" "this is your fault!" she cried before being sick again, there wasn't much in her stomach to bring up so it was painful and she had hot tears rolling down her face, "Melinda, I'm sorry, I just...it's hard seeing you like this, I'm so scared for you, I don't know how to make you better and you don't seem to be able to do it yourself" his voice was thick with worry and strain to keep from yelling at her in desperation which a part of him wanted to do.

A couple of minutes later she emerged and went to wash her mouth at the sink, Jim rubbed her back but she flinched away from him "Melinda, I'm sorry" he pleaded, she shook her head and splashed her face, her head was pounding and she felt dizzy, Melinda pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and wrote a text message 'I need help' she sent it to Christopher while Jim stood watching nervously, he ran a hand through his hair "Melinda, talk to me honey, are you okay?" he asked, she threw him a glare and walked out of the bathroom leaving him standing in shame, she picked the pizza box up and threw it angrily into the trash along with the cartons of juice, she stormed out of the camp's music room and clamped one hand to her forehead to calm the throbbing, glancing behind her she broke into a fast run and cut through the trees. Jim grabbed her guitar from beside the piano and ran out behind her but she was already out of sight. "Mel!?" he called, there was no answer so he pulled his cell phone out and called her but she wouldn't answer.

Melinda reached back to their cabin just as Christopher walked up the driveway from the car park, she was swaying unsteadily and her face was deathly pale and clammy, she was covered in a light sheen of sweat despite the fact that she was shivering intensely. "Melinda!" Christopher yelled in fear, her ghostly complexion almost glowed in the moonlight and Christopher could see the fever in her eyes, he broke into a run as she staggered towards him, "MELINDA!" he cried as she began to fall to the floor, he reached her just in time and threw himself to the floor to catch her and pulled her into his arms, Melinda blinked tiredly and held onto his t-shirt with weak hands, just then Jim ran towards them "she needs her medicine, now!" he yelled running past them into the cabin, Christopher stood with Melinda in his arms and kissed her head "you'll be okay honey, you'll be okay" he comforted as he rushed her inside and sat down with her on the couch, Jim came in with her medicine bag and Christopher set up her needle, "you ready?" he asked Melinda softly, she didn't respond and her eyes were closed, he kissed her forehead before pulling her sweater and tank top up, he pushed the needle in slowly and emptied it. "What happened Jim?" he asked, "I tried to make her eat, she was doing okay for a while but she was sick after, it was my fault, I was pushing too hard" he said quietly, Christopher nodded as he rocked Melinda in his arms slowly "how did you know to come here?" Jim asked, "Melinda sent me a message", Christopher held his phone out and Jim ran a hand through his hair as he read it. "She wouldn't let you help her?" Christopher asked, Jim shook his head "she said it was my fault, she hates me right now, she wouldn't even answer when I tried to talk to her".

"Melinda?" Christopher called quietly, she nodded slowly with her eyes closed as she attempted to calm her erratic heartbeat, "sweetie, you're okay now, it's all okay honey" he whispered, tears began to roll down her cheeks and Christopher held her tighter, "Mel..." Jim whispered, she took a deep breath and turned her head to Christopher's chest, "baby, is there anything you feel like you could manage to eat or drink? We need to keep your sugar up honey" Christopher whispered, she shivered and he kissed her head softly "Jim, get some juice from the fridge, the tropical one", Melinda opened her eyes slowly and Christopher helped her to sit up in his lap, Jim came back with the juice and set it down on the table. "Melinda, I didn't mean..." he trailed off nervously and shook his head "I'm sorry" he whispered, Melinda looked up at him and nodded slowly without a word, she took the drink from the table and drank all of it slowly, "well done honey, you feeling better?" Christopher asked, Melinda nodded and lay her head against his chest, "would you like me to stay here tonight?" he asked, Melinda shook her head softly, "are you ready to go to bed?", Melinda nodded and Christopher gathered her in his arms, "sweetie, do you think you could have some more juice when you wake up?" he asked, Melinda nodded again and he smiled. Jim stayed back as they headed upstairs, Christopher put Melinda down and she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, "looks like you might be staying on the couch tonight, if Melinda doesn't want to talk to you then leave her alone for a while" he told Jim.

"I know" he whispered, Melinda emerged from the bathroom and sat on the bed, "I'm gonna head back to camp, okay honey?" Christopher asked, Melinda nodded and he gave her a kiss on the cheek, "you did the right thing, if ever you need help, don't be afraid to call for me, I'll always come sweetie" he said softly, Melinda nodded and gave him a hug "night sweetheart. Jim, take care of her" he said with a nod before leaving, Jim shuffled uncertainly, "do you want me to sleep downstairs?" he asked softly, Melinda shook her head and held up the finger that her ring was on and Jim knew he was forgiven, "I love you too" he whispered. Melinda pulled her sweater over her head and threw it on the floor, Jim sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms kissing her softly, Melinda relaxed into his arms letting all of the pain flow from her heart leaving behind only love and desire, she slipped one hand under Jim's t-shirt and ran it over the perfect marble planes of muscle, Jim lay back and Melinda straddled his hips, he gazed down at her as she kissed her way down his chest, her hair tumbling over one shoulder and tickling his skin.

Melinda undid the button and zip on Jim's jeans, hooked her fingers into the waistband of his boxers and kissed back up his chest, Jim spun them over and kissed Melinda deeply, her legs parted beneath him and he lay on top of her. "I could never hate you Jim, please don't ever think that" she whispered as she ran a hand through his hair and gazed into his eyes lovingly, "I shouldn't have pushed you like that" he said with a frown, Melinda dipped her head and pulled his lips to hers "I'm scared" she whispered against him, Jim pulled away and stroked Melinda's face with gentle fingers "of what?" he asked softly, "everything...all the time, I just...I can't help but feel like something horrible is gonna happen, I can't explain it Jim, I just feel scared of everything" she whispered, Jim kissed her gently "there's nothing to be afraid of Melinda, I won't let anything happen to you, you have to trust me" he said softly, Melinda shook her head "I don't deserve you" she whispered, Jim smiled "right back at you" Melinda wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with love.

"You have to get past this baby, you have to want to get better" he whispered against her neck, Melinda froze "what? You...how dare you?!" she pushed him off of her and climbed off the bed "you think I don't _want_ to get better?! You think I like going through every day wondering if it'll be my last?! You think I enjoy having everyone watching over me like at any second I might break?! Because I don't Jim, I hate it! I hate going to hospitals and I hate needles and I hate the yelling and the fighting and the crying..." she broke down in sobs and Jim tried to hold her but she pushed him away. "Don't touch me, I'm fine" she growled, Jim flinched and stepped back as Melinda stormed out of the room, she ran into the lounge and lay on the couch deciding to stay there for the night. Jim was seething with anger, he loved Melinda more than anything in the world and he had just made her hate him, but he wasn't just angry at himself, he was angry at her. Loving and compassionate as he was, he was still human and couldn't stand the thought of Melinda not being there, her not getting better was her hurting his true love, she had the power to take away from him the happiness he had found in his life and it enraged him that she wouldn't help herself. He knew she could do it, she just _wouldn't_, he slammed his fist into the pillow and decided to go after her.

Jim stormed into the lounge and stopped in front of where Melinda was lying down "don't tell me you're fine, you've had a headache on and off for two weeks now, you've been vomiting all week, you're tired all the time, you never eat or drink. I won't just sit back and watch you do this to yourself, for god's sake Melinda I can't!" he yelled finally letting out some of his pent up anger, tears sprang to Melinda's eyes and she sat up and hugged her knees, "I'm getting better every day-" she began but was cut off by Jim "you're **not** getting better Melinda, you're getting worse...this is the longest time I've ever seen someone suffer voluntarily. I don't understand what's wrong with you! Is your dark side enjoying this, huh? Is the little masochist inside of you rejoicing in your pain? I'm trying so hard to let you heal in your own time, but I can't do it anymore Mel, you're not the only one who's scared, it terrifies me to think that something could happen to you one day and I won't be there to protect you" he yelled towering over her.

Melinda looked completely terrified and made no move to stop the hot tears that streamed quickly down her cheeks. "Good. I'm glad you're crying because it shows me that you're still in there, because I swear to God Melinda sometimes I really do wonder, I don't want to hurt you, but you need to hear this...you need to wake the hell up, not just for you but for the whole family. Do you know that there's not a single night in the past week that Olivia hasn't cried? Chris hasn't been able to think straight he's so fraught with worry, the girls are scared to death that something's gonna happen to you, all Mitch wants to do is help you and all I can do is sit here and watch you waste away. I'm sorry, but if you intend to lay there until you die then you can do it on your own! At least then everyone else could get over it and move on!" he yelled at the top of his lungs with angry tears rolling down his cheeks. Melinda flinched and recoiled as though he had slapped her "please don't walk away from me, I'll make myself better, I swear Jim, I'll do everything I can" she said when he picked up his jacket, "Jim, don't leave me here" she pleaded "I need to get some air" he replied harshly slamming the door behind him.

*pokes head out from rock* uh-oh....I didn't mean to piss you off.....hehehe 'there may be trouble ahead' LOL xx review!!! XX

Lolly xxxx


	31. Chapter 31

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended**

Read it and weep.......Thank you so much to everyone who reviews on the regular, you guys are what keeps me writing!

1000 cheers for Reagan (Jimelforeverx) she reviews every single chapter even when she's busy writing her own stuff, her stories are amazing, if you haven't read them yet....you're missing out BIG TIME!

Melinda sobbed as she heard the front door slam and then the roar of a car engine, she was now alone in the cabin, she pressed her hands to her head when the familiar headache began to creep into her awareness. Walking downstairs she felt a wave of nausea hit her so she pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge and poured it into a tall glass, Melinda searched the cupboard for painkillers and found Vicodin and Cocodamol when she remembered what Jim had said _–"If you intend to lay there until you die then you can do it on your own! At least that way everyone could get over it and move on!"_ –Melinda let out an involuntary sob "he's right, they'd all be better off without me" she whispered, Melinda clamped her eyes shut and swallowed a handful of the pills gagging when they jammed in the back of her throat, she gulped down some of the water and spluttered as she tried to force more pills in. Melinda closed the pill bottles and put them back in the cupboard before grabbing a pen and paper from beside the phone and sat at the kitchen table, she cried as she began to write –**Jim, you were right. I'm a burden to the family and you would all be so much better off without me, I'm gonna give you your freedom back, I hope you can forgive me for taking it from you in the first place. I want to say I'm sorry to all of you, I'm sorry for everything. I'm just doing what should have been done a long time ago and I hope that this way we can all find peace. Just know that I fell in love with you, all of you. Melinda x**

It was 9:00pm, Melinda set the pen and paper down, she pulled her ring and charm bracelet off clumsily, dropped them on the kitchen table and took a sip of the water, she gripped the kitchen counter when her vision began to blur, pins and needles worked their way through her body followed by a wave of dizziness, Melinda dropped the glass then clutched her head when a loud smash resounded off of the walls, she watched distantly as the glass splintered and flew out in different directions and the water created a wave that spread slowly into a large puddle across the laminate flooring. She swayed and staggered to a blanket that was resting on top of a basket of clean laundry and tucked it under her arm before running out of the cabin as fast as her tiring body would allow, she ran down the path that led to a familiar secluded spot on the beach. Melinda wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and walked down to the water where waves crashed and flowed in quickly before being dragged back by the forceful tide, she knelt down on the sand and gathered water in her hand as it neared her then watched as it dripped back to its home. Melinda smiled serenely as the light threw diamons from the ocean and a light breeze brushed her bare legs and arms, she blinked at the barely visible orange sun, a thin sliver of light over the horizon lighting the otherwise black sky, an unnatural lethargy swept over her and she watched as the glittering tide flowed as far away from her destruction as possible.

"Hello Melinda" came a whisper in her ear, she turned her head lazily and gasped when she saw who it was "Joe?" she asked as she fought to keep her eyes open remembering all the ways he had hurt her, remembering that he murdered her mom and dad in cold blood "am...am I dreaming?"she asked sleepily, a laugh echoed in the warm air around them and she was lifted into a strong pair of arms "you wish" came his harsh reply, Melinda shook her head to try and wake herself up but found that she couldn't....because she wasn't sleeping. "Can't keep my eyes open" she slurred, "what did you do?" Joe asked as he carried her through the forest, Melinda looked up into his dark eyes and shivered "took some pills, he said they would be better off without me" she mumbled, "can't argue with that" he snarled, "I don't want you to die...yet, I want you to suffer like we have" he yelled, Melinda whimpered as she was thrown to the ground, Joe kneeled beside her and pulled her onto his lap "lean over" he instructed, Melinda did as she was told sleepily and he held her chin in his hand "bite me and I'll kill you".

Joe forced two fingers into Melinda's mouth until they hit the back of her throat and she heaved, he did it over and over until she was sick, Melinda retched until she had nothing left to bring up, she knew what he was doing, he wanted to get rid of the pills she had taken so that he could keep her alive for whatever he had planned. "That's better, now we can have some fun baby" he said before picking her back up off the ground and carrying her to his van which was parked outside the house "they'll find me" Melinda mumbled, he opened the back doors and Melinda screamed when she saw who was inside "no! No, don't do this, no PLEASE!!!" she cried as she kicked and thrashed, Joe laughed and threw her roughly into the van and slammed the doors behind her. Melinda looked up fearfully until her eyes met those she had prayed she would never see again "missed me?" he snarled as he neared her, Melinda backed up until she was pressed against the door, "come on honey, don't act like you don't know me, you remember all the fun we had, right? You remember me, what's my name?" he asked as he wrapped his hands around her ankles, Melinda screamed and pulled her legs up to her chest "don't touch me!", a cruel laughed shook her and she clamped her eyes shut "look at me Melinda, what's my name?" he asked, Melinda opened her eyes with hot tears burning down her cheeks "David" she said quietly, "ah, so you do remember, good to know I left an impression" he said with a laugh.

"Why are you doing this?" Melinda cried, her voice was becoming weaker by the second as her head spun, she needed to eat something or she knew she would pass out, his face turned from amused to angry in a split second "because two of my best friends died because of you and three of us have been stuck in jail for the past year, do you know what that's like? It's hell" he told her with a scowl, "you **deserve **to go to hell" Melinda spat, David leapt up and grabbed her by the neck, "keep your mouth shut bitch" he growled before throwing her back to the floor. "I saw you and your boyfriend today, who'd have thought you'd turn out to be such a whore. What's his name?" he asked, Melinda glared at him "screw you" she mumbled, David chuckled "are you hearing this?" he called over to Joe who nodded his head with a chuckle and kept his eyes on the road "someone got feisty" he commented, Melinda turned away from him "I don't know if you're having some kind of power trip or if you're just plain stupid, but I want you to remember something, I'm the boss, okay? I make the rules and you follow them, now tell me his name" he demanded, Melinda trembled slightly at the sound of his furious voice "Jim" she said softly, he nodded "we're gonna have a little chat with Jim...maybe tomorrow or the day after, see if he'd like to come join in the fun" he taunted, Melinda felt fear run through her at the thought of Jim being hurt, "leave him alone!" she yelled, David smiled and ran his hand through his hair "I think we're gonna have a little trouble with you, what do you say we calm you down a little?" he asked pulling a needle from a box beside him.

"Melinda, come here" he demanded, Melinda screamed and tried to force the doors open "NO! NO! HELP ME SOMEBODY!" she screamed, David grabbed her around the waist and pinned her beneath him, "good girl" he said as he pushed the needle in slowly, Melinda sobbed as he emptied the syringe slowly before kissing her softly "let the games begin" he said as Melinda began to shiver, David smiled and pulled her onto his lap as her eyes glazed over and her body trembled. As the drug quickly spread through every fibre of her being, Melinda's head fell back and she was forced to embrace the colours which were chasing each other across her mind as all pain flowed away from her body, "bet you miss that feeling" David said as he kissed her neck, Melinda shook her head distantly and whimpered as the familiar unnatural calm washed over her, "we're here" Joe called back to them, Melinda looked out of the front window and found that they were in a dark alley, "why here?" she slurred, "car change" Joe told her as he opened the back doors, Melinda inhaled the scent of hot popcorn as she was pulled roughly by the arm and they laughed raucously as she fell to the floor. "Jesus David, how much did you give her?" Joe asked, David grinned wickedly and showed him the completely empty syringe, "she's gonna be out all night" Joe said as he picked her up, Melinda screamed and pounded her fists into his chest drunkenly, David pulled her into his own arms and sat with her in the backseat of a blue Kia holding a hand over her mouth, "I'm going to make you wish you'd died the first time around" he growled as he struck Melinda across the face, the calm feeling kept her relaxed but she frowned "I didn't do anything to you" she said, she sounded as though she was half asleep as the drug held her captive in its prison of sedation. "I'm gonna cause you so much pain that you'll beg me to kill you Melinda, and don't think that I won't oblige" he snarled, Melinda's breathing became shallow and she could feel herself slipping out of consciousness, "Jim..." she mumbled, David pushed her onto the seat beside him and laughed when her head fell limply to the side.

This Chapter is dedicated to Kailey12, quite a while ago she sent me this message..........

**'ok so 1st of all i absolutely love your shattered story and your handle with care story!! they are absolutely amazing!! omg seriously freakin fantastic!! lol**

**anyways i have been reading you're handle with care story as you update it and i kinda have a suggestion but not sure if it will fit in with what you are planning for the story....i was thinking it would be kinda cool if maybe one of the guys that took Mel and hurt her were to escape from prison and come and find her and take her again....and then it would be up to Jim to come and save her....**

**i know its kind of a crazy idea but i was just thinking....feel free to shoot my idea down! lol**

**again great job on the stories!! i absolutely love them!!'**

...........And I have been trying to bridge the gap between the last few chapters and this one....Thank you so much Kailey, I loved the idea and I've been working on it since the day I got your message!

REVIEWWWWW! Lolly xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	32. Chapter 32

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended**

An hour later Olivia giggled as Christopher kissed her neck softly while running his hand up her back, "I think we did the right thing by coming back, Melinda needs us, the others will be okay for the night" they climbed out of the car and Christopher realised that Jim's car was missing from the other end "I think Jim went out, maybe he went to get Melinda something from the store" he said, Olivia nodded and pulled him towards the driveway. They had decided to leave the camp to stay at the cabin with Melinda and Jim for the night just in case she got sick again and needed help.

They got through the door and put their shoes on the rack by the door and walked hand in hand into the kitchen, Olivia gasped as she saw the shattered glass on the floor in a pool of water "what on earth?" she breathed, "oh God, Livvy..." Christopher said as he caught sight of the note, he read it aloud and Olivia cried out "no...NO! She wouldn't!...Please tell me she didn't..." she sobbed. Christopher ran up the stairs screaming "Melinda!" all the way, the door to the room she and Jim were sharing was open and she was nowhere to be found, he picked up his cell phone and dialled Jim's number as he ran back down to his distraught wife "What did you do?!" he yelled as soon as Jim picked up, "what are you talking about?" Jim asked worriedly, and animalistic growl erupted from Christopher's chest "don't piss around with me James Clancy, where are you?" he asked angrily, "I'm just pulling into the car park, I'll be up in a minute" he said before hanging up. Christopher stormed out of the cabin and met Jim as he walked up the path, he grabbed the collar of Jim's shirt roughly with tears streaming down his cheeks and a wild look in his eyes "where's Melinda?!" he asked, Jim's eyes widened, "she was on the couch when I left..." he said, "well she's not there now...read it" he said shoving the note in Jim's face, he read it and shook his head "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HER?!" Christopher screamed "I didn't mean it I swear, I was just angry and we had a fight, well, I fought... and she cried, I just said it in the heat of the moment..." Jim sobbed.

An uncharacteristically dark look crossed Christopher's perfect features "what. Did. You. Say to her?" he growled through gritted teeth, Jim looked into his fearful eyes "I...I...told her if she wanted to die then she could do it on her own...and...and I was just so frustrated and...I said that the family could..could get over it and move on. I swear I didn't mean it, I was just so angry and-" Christopher let go of Jim's collar as if it had burned him "I have never been so disgusted with anyone in my life" he said quietly. Olivia pulled Christopher into a hug "what do we do?" she asked, "call the police, I'm gonna try her cell" he replied, Olivia did as she was told and Christopher waited impatiently as Melinda's phone rang for a while before going to voicemail. "She's not answering" he whispered brokenly as he hung up the phone. "She's on foot, she can't have gone far...where would she go?" he wondered aloud looking at the pitch black surrounding forest and listening to the sound of waves crashing down at the bottom of the hill.

"The beach!" Jim yelled, he made a move to run in the direction but Christopher grabbed his arm "you've done enough damage" he said coldly, "Livvy, I'll call you if I find her okay, I'll bring her back here...hopefully she hasn't done anything...yet" he said before bolting onto the trail, he emerged from the trees onto the silky sand only five minutes later and spotted Melinda's blanket straight away "shit" he muttered as he ran across the beach, "MELINDA!!" he yelled, he pulled the blanket into his arms and sobbed into it, "baby, my baby" he cried, he ran up onto some rocks where he could clearly see into the water but found no sign of her, he ran back and carried on until he saw something, there was a patch of wet sand that looked like it had been recently disturbed and not too far from there he could see that someone had been sick, he ran back to the driveway, Olivia was frantically talking to a police officer and Jim to another, there were two police cars and an ambulance. "NO!" Olivia cried as she saw Christopher running over with only the blanket in his arms, he shook his head as tears rolled down his cheeks, "looks she stayed there for a while and she was sick" he said handing an officer her blanket, "which way sir?" he asked, Christopher pointed and two officers ran off, "has she ever done anything like this before?" a woman asked Christopher, he shook his head weakly and she made a note in a small book, "is there anywhere you can think of that Melinda would go to do this?" she asked, "you're asking me where I think she would go to die!? How do I answer that?" he cried as he dropped his head into his hands "I don't know, I don't know" he repeated it over and over as he sobbed.

Jim came over and placed a hand on Christopher's shoulder, "don't you DARE touch me!" Chris yelled throwing Jim's hand away "you did this to her!" he yelled before storming back into the cabin, he ran up to Jim and Melinda's room and pulled one of her pillows into his arms, a few seconds later a police officer came in carrying what looked to be a small hand-held vacuum cleaner. "Mr. Jenner, I need your permission to use this, I'll run it over Melinda's pillow, when I'm done the pad comes out of the middle and is used as a scent reference for our dogs" he said, Christopher nodded "go ahead" he said quietly, he knew what it meant that they were using dogs....they were looking for a body.

The officer went around the other side of Melinda's bed and turned his machine on, he ran it over Melinda's pillow a few times then pulled the covers back and ran it down the bed. "I'm done" he said with a nod, Christopher returned it weakly and kissed the pillow in his arms before setting it down and following the officer, as he came out the door he could hear Olivia's distraught voice yelling "what the hell do you mean!? How could nobody tell us!? You found a knife!" she was screaming, a tall man with red hair and freckles across his nose lay a hand on her shoulder "ma'am we're very sorry, you should have been informed as soon as we were" he said "DAMN RIGHT!" Olivia screamed back as she whacked his hand away. Christopher ran over to them "what's going on?" he asked "they're out of jail" Olivia sobbed into his chest, Christopher's heart stopped beating "who?" he asked praying that his immediate thoughts were wrong, "two of the men who were involved in the murder of Melinda's parents, we found a knife that we believe belongs to one of them" the police officer told him, "you mean two of the men who tried to kill Melinda, who almost succeeded? Who beat her and assaulted her and hurt her until they got bored and threw her out of the back of a van? GADDAMNIT!! Did it just slip your mind? How could you not tell us? YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH! MY DAUGHTER COULD BE DEAD AND IT WILL BE YOUR FAULT!" he screamed as Olivia sobbed brokenly in his arms, "I understand your anger sir, it only happened yesterday, they told a cell mate that they were planning to get out a find the girl that put them in there, I'm sure someone would have informed you soon because Melinda should have been put into witness protection today. We're going to see if we can track Melinda with the dogs first, it could just be a coincidence that they're out of jail, they may not have anything to do with this, we already have a red alert on both of them" he assured Christopher.

"Go inside and sit tight okay, we'll have a patrol car stationed outside your house, they'll let you know as soon as we hear something, if the escapees contact you I need you to go straight to the car so they can track the call, understood?" she asked, the three of them nodded and went back into the living room. "What happened?!" came Holly's frantic voice as her and Mitch came through the door "the police asked for our names and ID's, what's going on?" she asked, Christopher pinched the bridge of his nose "where's your sister?" he asked Mitch "Lexy's parking her car, the police were in the way so she drove into the car park around back" he explained, just then Alexis ran in looking terrified "why are there police everywhere? They were asking questions, where's Melinda? " she asked looking around, Mitch and Holly did the same and their eyes widened "Melinda?" Holly asked Christopher, he nodded and a new wave of tears flowed down his face "she's gone. Melinda tried to...she may have already done it...she left a note saying that she was going to..end her life" his voice cracked and he cleared his throat "she's gone missing, they told us that two of the men who killed her parents have gotten out of jail, there's a possibility that they may have taken her, they...they found a knife.." he said. "NO! No I just saw her an hour ago, it can't be true!" Holly cried as Mitch pulled her into his arms, "that's the first thing people say when they find out that something bad happened 'it can't be true, I just saw her' like seeing someone is a guarantee that they'll be there the next day" Alexis said as she sunk down onto the couch and curled up against her twin brother's side.

"Why would she do this?" Mitch asked sadly, Christopher shot a glare at Jim "because somebody made her feel like that would be a good idea" he said coldly, Jim ran a hand through his hair "I didn't mean...I wasn't telling her to KILL herself!" Jim yelled before storming up to his and Melinda's room, he locked himself in and pulled a sweater out of her suitcase and inhaled her soft scent deeply, "Melinda, I'm sorry, I love you, I'm so sorry" he sobbed.

**15 hours later **on Saturday afternoon Melinda woke from her forced sleep, she shivered and went to pull her cardigan tighter around herself but she wasn't wearing it, she was wearing nothing but her underwear, "wakey wakey baby, thanks for the ride, that was awesome" Joe growled as he pulled his trousers up, Melinda groaned and rolled onto her side before pushing herself up "Jim?" she whispered sleepily, Joe laughed "your boyfriend isn't here, it's just us" he whispered in her ear as he lay down beside her. Melinda shivered and tried to push him away but his muscular arms pulled her close "I didn't like jail much, too many bad people, not enough good girls like you. You know, I figured you would have grown at least a few inches over the year, how old are you now?" he asked, Melinda squirmed in his grasp and pushed against his chest "get off of me! HELP!" she screamed hoping someone would hear her, Joe laughed "look around, nobody's gonna hear you" Melinda glanced around and realized they were in the living room of a rather large house.

"Let me go! I wanna go home, PLEASE let me GO!!" Melinda screamed, she bit Joe's arm as hard as she could then brought her knee up and rammed it between his legs and took the opportunity to run when he yelled out in pain and doubled over, her body was sore and bruised and aching in places she knew meant that her worst nightmare had come true...again, she found it hard to run fast enough to stay ahead, she tried to unlock the front door and eventually worked the bolts, with a glance back at Joe, go was now trying to stand up still doubled over, she ran over to her pile of clothes on a round kitchen table and patted all of her pockets down, she still had her cell phone. Melinda grabbed it, shoved it into her bra and took hold of a vase of flowers that was sitting on the same table, Joe was staggering towards her so she threw the vase at him as hard as she could, not wasting time to watch it shatter she bolted from the front door and winced when the cold night air swirled around her bare skin, she slammed the door behind her and ran as fast as she could. She looked around frantically as she ran, it was just like home....surrounded by forest, she couldn't hear the ocean and could tell that she wasn't near the cabin, she knew she would end up lost if she attempted to run through it, she looked back at the house, more specifically....the roof. She ran around the back of the large house and found a trellis which ran up the side of the house with a plant winding up it, "please work" she muttered, tucking her phone further into her bra she pulled on the trellis to make sure it was steady and then began to climb.

She heard the front door open and sped up as best she could, "WHERE ARE YOU?!" came Joe's furious voice, Melinda finally reached a flat part of the roof and moved across it as quietly as she could, she could see through the window of the attic as the top floor was smaller than the others so the floor she was standing on was the ceiling of a bedroom upstairs, Melinda pushed herself around the side of the top floor where she couldn't be seen and opened her cell, she had 26 missed calls, she pulled Jim's number up on the contact list and dialled it.

.....................REVIEW PLEASE xx Lolly xx


	33. Chapter 33

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I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended

Thank you for all of your amazing reviews, you guys are majorly awesome ......Here's some more drama for you xxxxxxxxxxxxx Love ya xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jim was upstairs looking through photographs of Melinda when his cell phone rang, he jumped up and answered "Melinda?!" he asked, "Jim I need help" came her frightened reply, Jim ran down the stairs as fast as he could, Olivia, Christopher, Holly and one of the police officers were at the kitchen table, "IT'S MELINDA!" he yelled as he reached the bottom of the stairs, everyone jumped up and the police officer motioned for him to follow, "baby stay with me, where are you?" he asked, Melinda looked around again "I don't know, I'm in a house, I'm on the roof, all I can see are trees, they're not like the ones around our house though, I can see the ocean, but it looks so far away" she told him, as Jim reached the police car they took his phone and plugged it into a computer, Melinda's voice came through the computer speaker "the house is pretty big, the outside bricks are made of stone, it looks really old but the inside is all modern. I...I can't see any lights around, I don't think there are any other houses. Jim I'm scared" she whimpered, Jim let out a choked sob "I know baby, I know" he cried, he sat down in the back of the police car as one of them plugged the phone in and typed away on the computer "Melinda? My name is Officer James, I need you to stay on the phone for as long as you can, okay? We're tracing the call" he told her.

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"MELINDA! YOU'RE DEAD!" Joe's voice boomed from the ground, "Melinda, who was that?" the officer asked, "his...his name i..is Joe, he was there when my parents.." she trailed off and Jim pictured her lip quivering as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Melinda, are you hurt, have they hurt you?" the officer asked, the silence on the end of the line told them everything they needed to know, "I...he..yes" Melinda replied, "sweetheart, I need you to think...where was the last place that you knew where you were?" he asked, his partner was still typing at 100mph with a look of complete concentration on his face, "we switched cars, I think we were near a movie theatre, ..I could smell popcorn...his van should still be there and we switched cars, after that I passed out, he gave me a needle...I don't know what it was. We got in a blue car...a Kia, I saw the name on the back. After that...I don't remember anything, I woke up in this house...I don't wanna die here" she said before bursting into tears.

The ground below her went deathly silent and Melinda knew she had been heard, "J...Jim... he's coming" she whispered through her tears, Jim ran his hands through his hair as tears streamed down his cheeks, "I got her" the officer on the laptop said triumphantly, "Melinda, we have your location, we're on our way" the officer said, Melinda screamed as Joe came around the corner of the roof, "Jim, I ...I love you!" she cried before he reached her. Joe wrapped one hand around Melinda's neck and took her phone in the other "Jim, I'd like you to say goodbye to your girlfriend, she's not going to be alive for much longer. It's been fun but...I just don't think it's gonna work out, we've grown apart" he said with mock disappointment, "I think I'll have a little fun with her first, I know David's just been dying to have his turn, hmmm....I have a soft spot for this girl...or should I say a very **hard** spot" he chuckled as Jim let out a growl on the other end, "you're little noises aren't gonna scare me away Jim, in fact they actually spur me on a little more, I think I'm going to have to teach Melinda a tough lesson in obedience, would you like to listen?" he asked.

Jim let out an involuntary sob as Melinda screamed in pain when Joe's hand struck her hard across the face "Jim, hang up! p..please...I don't want you to hear this" she sobbed, "no Melinda, I'm not leaving you" he cried. One of the police officers had told Olivia what was happening and she watched from the driveway as they had begun racing down the freeway following the coordinates on the computer. "This is so sweet" Joe cooed, Melinda struggled against his grasp and he pulled her forward before slamming her back against the wall, "what the hell is going on here?" Melinda looked over Joe's shoulder to see David holding a large silver handled knife, "NO!" she screamed, David glowered at Joe who gave an apologetic shrug "the bitch bit me be then kicked me in the balls man, she was on the phone to her boyfriend when I got up here" he told him handing him the phone. David snapped it shut and rubbed his temples "you IDIOT!" he yelled, Melinda whimpered and clawed at Joe's arm trying to free her neck from his hand, "we have to move, they can trace calls" he said through gritted teeth, Joe gave Melinda another slap "you see what you did? BITCH" he yelled, David dropped her phone on the floor and crushed it under his booted foot, he grabbed Melinda by the shoulders and threw her to the floor, "you STUPID BITCH!" he yelled as he kicked her over and over, Melinda tried to gasp for air but before she had the chance David was on top of her with his knee pressed into her stomach, "you pull anymore stunts like that and I'll kill you on the spot, got it?" he snarled, Melinda groaned in pain "thought you're gonna kill me anyway, dumbass" she said before spitting in his face, David rammed his knee harder into her stomach and she winced, "this whole defiance shit is getting old fast" he raised the knife to her neck and dug it in until he broke the skin, Melinda screamed as he dragged it across the side of her neck, only just deep enough to draw blood but not enough to cause serious damage.

David pinned her hands beside her head and brought his face to hers "you will do as I say, understand?" he growled, Melinda nodded through her screams of pain, "we need to go" Joe said, David picked Melinda up and pulled her arms around his neck, "hold on" he commanded as he made his way back down the trellis, he jumped to the ground and Melinda groaned as her body was jostled, "get me some cable ties, they're in the cupboard under the sink" he commanded Joe, Melinda was thrown to the floor and David knelt beside her, Joe returned a few seconds later with thick cable ties, David rolled Melinda onto her stomach and pulled her arms behind her back causing her to scream out in agony, he bound her hands tightly with the near unbreakable plastic and pushed her into the trunk of the car "no, no! please don't leave me in here, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME IN HERE!!!" she screamed as he slammed the trunk shut, "let's go" he called to Joe, the two of them climbed into the car and raced off as fast as they could.

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Two hours later, at 5:00pm, the police car pulled into the driveway of a large stone house followed by an ambulance and another police cruiser which held Jim and two officers. The police and paramedics all jumped out of the cars and Jim went to follow them "Mr. Clancy, I need you to wait in the car, we'll be out soon" he told him leaving no room for protest, Jim nodded and sat back down praying to god or the gods that Melinda would be okay. Two of the officers ran out of the house and around the side then Jim could hear them on the roof, it only took five minutes, they came out empty handed, Melinda was gone. Jim felt tears well up in his eyes again and he leaned his head back against the seat. "They left already, we're gonna head back to your house, the other officers are gonna stay here with CSI, we found her cell phone smashed on the roof. Jim, I'm very sorry but it looks like Melinda's injured, there was a lot of blood in the house and even more on the roof, we're gonna do everything we can but I need you to understand that this just became a likely recovery, not a rescue" the woman said softly, Jim nodded through his tears and ran his hands through his hair as two officers climbed back into the car and headed back to the house.

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Melinda could feel her lungs freezing with the cold of the air around her, the trunk of the car did not provide much insulation, she struggled against the cable ties endlessly until they broke her skin and every time she moved they dug a little further into her flesh, she could feel her body protesting against every move she made but she didn't stop, "LET ME OUT!!" she screamed over and over until she felt the car stop, the trunk was thrown open and David pulled her out roughly by her shoulders and threw her on the dirt, they were on a deserted road surrounded by trees, she knew nobody would hear her, David lifted her by her hair and punched her hard in the stomach, she yelped in pain and doubled over "stop, please stop" she sobbed "you. Will. Suffer" he growled as he threw her against the side of the car, Melinda's head hit the car so hard that it bounced off the metal and she fell to her knees "Joe, get me a shot" David commanded roughly, Joe fumbled around in the car then held a needle out, Melinda squirmed on the floor "is this what you want?" he asked, "I don't wanna feel you anymore" she sobbed, David chuckled and handed the needle back to Joe, "that's just too bad baby girl, cause' I wanna feel you" he snarled, Melinda whimpered and his mouth travelled from her neck to her mouth and he kissed her hungrily, his hands ran over her skin and Melinda clamped her eyes shut and screamed for she knew what was going to happen....again.

* * *

Jim arrived back at the house and walked in between the two officers he sank down in a chair next to Holly and rested his head on the table, "I'm very sorry, we didn't find your daughter. She was definitely there but it looks like they figured out what we were doing and ran, Mr. Jenner, could I have a word with you privately?" Officer James asked, Christopher nodded and followed him into the living room. "Mr. Jenner, the first 24 hours in a kidnapping are critical, 17 hours have already passed and we're at a loss as to where they could be, when we entered the house we found some clothing we believe belongs to your daughter, we also found a cell phone which had been destroyed. There was a lot of blood in the house, it appears that Melinda has been severely injured, we also found a large pool of blood on the roof of the house. I understand that Melinda suffers from hypoglycaemia, without her medication Melinda is in even more danger. Would you be willing to come down to the station? We need someone to confirm that the evidence belongs to her and answer any questions that may help, we also need someone there if...if things don't turn out well" he explained, Christopher nodded through his tears and walked numbly back into the kitchen. "Olivia, I need to go with the police honey, take care of them, okay?" he said softly, he kissed her head and squeezed her hand before heading out.

* * *

Melinda was almost unconscious by the time David had finished with her just after 6:00pm, "get up" he commanded, Melinda stayed completely still and stared blankly at his cruel face, "Bitch, I said GET UP" he growled, Melinda was unable to move even her pinky finger let alone get off the ground, David huffed in frustration and pulled her from the ground himself, she didn't even have the energy to cry as every part of her body moaned in pain, "David, I spoke to Jonny and there's a car waiting for us at the park, I'll go pick it up and I'll be back here in half an hour" he told him, David nodded and climbed back into the car dropping Melinda onto the backseat, he lit up a cigarette and sat back in the driver's seat while watching Melinda closely in the rear-view mirror. "Do you understand how much I hate you now?" he growled, "I've been behind bars Melinda. I had to sit in a goddamned box for 303 fucking days because of you. I want you to die...but I want you to suffer first", Melinda struggled to keep her eyes open "why did you take me?...last year, why didn't you just take the money and go?" she asked quietly, he chuckled darkly "I don't answer to you Melinda, the same rules apply, I don't want to hear your fucking whiney little voice, I am going to hurt you so bad that you'll beg me to kill you, then I'm gonna take you somewhere far away from your stupid new family and I am going to finish you off" he said slowly as if talking to a small child. Melinda was too afraid to close her eyes so she forced her weak body up into a sitting position and rested her head back against the seat, she looked across into the forest and considered running but knew that she wouldn't even make it off the seat without getting caught. Melinda focused her attention on her body and tried to assess her own condition, her head was pounding so painfully that it was almost blinding, her face was bruised, her neck was sore and bloody where she had been held up roughly and cut, her arms were bruised and tired from being held behind her back for so long and her wrists were raw from the thick cable ties, her chest and stomach were also badly bruised, her legs ached and her inner thighs were black and blue. Melinda's mind wandered to her family, were they looking for her? Would they make it in time? No, she decided, no they wouldn't make it...she was going to die.

................REVIEW PLEASE xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lolly xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	34. Chapter 34

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended**

MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....that's all I'm sayin x

Melinda began to cry again and leaned forward "I'm gonna be sick!" she groaned, David jumped out of his seat and pulled her out of the car roughly , she screamed as the cable ties cut further into her wrists and she could feel that both hands were wet with blood, David wrapped his arm around her waist and held her up as she was sick, "guess you haven't been **on** anything for a while" he mused, Melinda knew he was referring to the drugs and so shook her head "never" she murmured, he pulled her to her feet when she was finished, he set her down and handed her a bottle of water, she rinsed her mouth and spat the water out, "so, how long do you think we'll keep you this time? A week? A year?...no, I'm not that patient, how does it feel to know that you're talking to the person who's gonna end your life? How does it feel to know that you're never gonna see your family again?" he snarled in her ear, Melinda whimpered as he pulled her arms back by the cable ties "please...please" she sobbed as he kicked her back and she fell to the ground. Just then Joe pulled up in a red BMW, "you need to get rid of the other car" he called as he walked over to them, David nodded and pulled out everything he wanted to keep before jumping into the car and driving it off-road into the woods, Joe then pulled Melinda up by her hair causing her to scream in pain, he opened the trunk of the car and she struggled against him bracing her feet against the back of the car so he couldn't get her in, Joe jabbed the back of her knee with his elbow and her legs collapsed beneath her, David flashed a needle in front of her and she screamed as he slammed it into her stomach roughly, he closed the trunk on her and she was once again plunged into darkness.

* * *

It was 8:00pm on **Friday **when Christopher followed two officers into a small room in the police station where items of clothing were laid out on a steel table, tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked at Melinda's little dark blue tank top, her sleeveless boyfriend cardigan lay next to it along with her tiny Hollister shorts. The officer spoke but Christopher could no longer hear, he stared into the spatters of blood that were splashed across the clothes and heard Melinda's agonized scream ringing in his ears, he clamped his eyes shut as his stomach churned with dread, when he opened his eyes again the table was covered over with a large white sheet and he watched as the police officers interacted with each other. The officer closest to him spoke and then waited patiently for an answer Christopher continued to stare at the white sheet picturing Melinda's cold and lifeless body beneath it, an involuntary sob escaped his dry throat and he was led out of the room, he sat down on an uncomfortable plastic chair and a small woman knelt beside him. "Mr Jenner, I really need you to talk to me sir, please tell me if you recognise the clothing" she said softly, he gave a small nod and looked into her eyes with pain shining brightly in his own "they're Melinda's" he murmured softly, she nodded and placed a small hand on his knee "would you like some water?" she asked kindly, he shook his head slightly and rested it against the wall behind him, "Officer King, we have a lead on the van, I need you to go with Josh!" a tall and lean officer called breathlessly as he burst through the door, Christopher's head snapped up "you found Melinda?" he asked hopefully, the officer sat beside him as the woman ran out to join her co-worker, "no Mr Jenner, I'm sorry, we believe we've found the van that was used to take Melinda from your house, I'd like you to wait here until they call in with information, there may some more evidence for you to identify. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" he asked, Christopher shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose "go ahead" he sighed.

"What happened yesterday that led Melinda to attempt to take her own life?" he asked, Christopher felt a sharp pang of shock at the directness of the question "she never fully recovered from what happened to her last year, she's always suffered horrific nightmares and flashbacks, she can go for days without saying a single word to anyone...it's frightening to know that all that pain is so close to the surface. She is afraid of a lot of things, if people get too close or yell at her, my son got angry and said some things that he shouldn't have, she must be so scared right now..." his voice trailed off and he sobbed into his hands. The officer placed a comforting hand on his shoulder "Mr Jenner, I understand how hard this is for you, but every little piece of information could be the difference between your daughter coming back alive and your daughter not coming back at all. I need to know everything I can about her so that if she's out there on her own I'll be able to find her" he said, Christopher looked at him confusedly "what do you mean? You think they might leave her out there on her own?" he asked worriedly, the officer sighed and sat back "the two men who have taken your daughter are known criminals, they'll know that we're looking for them, if they feel that we're getting too close they may decide to leave your daughter behind, there is a possibility that they will release her, if they do that then the information I am gathering right now will help me to better understand what Melinda would do in that situation. Does Melinda have any friends that live near North beach?" he asked, Christopher nodded his head "she used to live here, I couldn't give you any names...", just then a young looking man in a lab coat rushed in "I have the results from the samples you sent over and CSI are processing the van" he announced, the officer nodded and excused himself.

He returned a few minutes later with a large brown folder, he sat down in front of Christopher and opened it "we processed the area of forest by your cabin, Melinda took vicodin and cocodamol, she managed to swallow somewhere around 20 pills of each" he said, Christopher's heart stopped beating and he felt the wind fly from his chest "she'll die.." he breathed, "no, it seems she made herself sick after, either that or one of her captors did, from what we found it looks like she managed to get everything out of her system, there should be no lasting damage" he said, Christopher relaxed slightly and ran a hand through his hair "and the van?" he asked, "Mr Jenner...what we found has us incredibly worried, we found an empty syringe in the back of the van, the blood on the needle matches your daughter" he said sullen. Christopher whimpered quietly "what...what was in it?" he choked out, "a large amount of GHB, also laced with cocaine, the combination can be deadly, if Melinda survived it then it still would have knocked her out all night, she may have still been unconscious up until today, if the needle was emptied all in one go as we suspect it was then there's a possibility of severe damage, it's vital that we find Melinda ASAP" he said with determination in his strong voice.

* * *

Melinda was pulled roughly from the trunk of the car at 1:00am on **Saturday** morning, almost three days after being taken, she had no recollection of the past 18 hours since she had been injected, as she sobbed violently she looked up to see a dark warehouse, most of the windows were missing and the gray concrete was littered and covered in graffiti, the sky was dark, rain poured heavily as lightning streaked through black clouds and thunder rumbled loudly. Her bare feet hit the wet ground and cold rain splashed her legs, "take her in, I'm gonna park around back so we can't be seen from the road" Joe said as he pulled the car door shut, David nodded and pulled Melinda by the elbow, she stumbled behind him and screamed when he spun around to her "learn to walk" he growled before taking off again, Melinda tried to concentrate on her footing as they ascended the wide concrete staircase which led to an open doorway which was only covered by thick plastic sheeting, she fell on the last step and landed hard on her front unable to use her hands as a shield, she cried out in pain as her knees, chest and chin scraped the rough floor. "GET UP!" David yelled, Melinda scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could and followed quietly, he led her through the debris littered shell of a building to a large silver elevator and they waited as it came down to them, once inside Melinda watched the number go up higher and higher until they were on the 6th floor, he pulled her out and walked through the network of charcoal hallways where only certain corners were lit by the moon. They eventually came to a room where it looked as though someone had been staying, various blankets and pillows were pulled together in two makeshift beds, a small television was raised on plastic crates, empty cans, takeaway boxes and needles were strewn about the floor and a large pool of blood had stained one corner, Melinda eyes it nervously as she was thrown down beside it.

David cut the cable ties on her wrist and rolled her onto her back "David" she whimpered as dizziness swept over her and she knew she needed to eat something as she didn't have her medicine with her "what?" he snapped, "I h..have hypoglycaemia...I...I don't have my... medication" she said with tears streaming down her cheeks, he seemed to think for a moment then laughed "I don't care" he snarled, she whimpered as he lowered himself onto her.

* * *

**Saturday** afternoon.........Melinda winced as she tried to push herself from the ground, she had been left alone but tied up, her wrists and bound together with cable ties around a thick pipe which ran from ceiling to floor, there was no way she could escape. A scratchy cough rattled her chest and blood splattered from her mouth, Melinda's eyes widened in fear and she wiped her mouth on her shoulder shuddering as she saw the blood smeared across her skin, just then she heard heavy footsteps coming towards her and tears began falling quickly down her cheeks as she shook with fear. "_YOOOU..." _David slurred drunkenly as he rounded the corner into the room, Melinda pushed herself as far back as she could and cowered down, "YOU ARE A FUCKING BITCH!" he hollered, Melinda kept her head down but jumped when a huge smash resounded throughout the room, she looked up hesitantly to see David holding a smashed vodka bottle, before she could even scream he had thrown his muscular arm forward and the jagged glass slashed through her side, Melinda's scream rang through the warm air and seemed never ending. Even Joe seemed shocked by what David had done, he stood with wide eyes as David panted heavily and Melinda writhed in agony, blood poured from the three shallow but painful gashes as Melinda cried out in pain. Joe threw a shocked look at David who just laughed, he threw the bottle over his shoulder and crouched down at Melinda's side, with pure hatred in his eyes he spat down on her before walking away with a triumphant grin.

* * *

**Saturday** night......."Please...I..... can't.. breath" Melinda choked out as David shook her roughly by the shoulders, her head was thrown back and forth like a ragdoll's and her vision began to darken, she was being punished for trying to run, she had been allowed to use the bathroom and tried to sprint to the elevator but was caught quickly and dragged back to the makeshift bedroom.

**-"I need the bathroom" she whimpered, David looked down from the TV screen to where Melinda was curled up in a tight ball at his feet, he huffed in frustration but pulled her up nonetheless, he dragged her across the floor and her feet scraped the rough concrete, he dropped her in the doorway of a large and almost empty bathroom, once she was finished she came out and he was gone. Melinda's eyes flickered to the elevator, if David had gone back to the bedroom then surely she could make it in time, her mind was made up. Melinda staggered as quickly as she could leaving bloody footprints behind, she glanced over her shoulder and pressed the button, her heartbeat thumped in her ears as the doors slid open, she had one foot in when something pulled her back, she landed on the floor with a loud scream "NOOO!" she cried, a fist flew into her face and the taste of copper filled her mouth, she reached up to shield herself but her bloody wrists were grabbed roughly and she was forced to her feet, "I don't wanna go back there! PLEASE!" she screamed-**

"That's what you get! You're making me angry Melinda, do you want your dad and boyfriend to find you dead? I don't. I want them to watch it happen, I want them to watch the light go out of your pretty brown eyes" he snarled, Melinda cried out as she was thrown against the concrete wall, she fell to the floor and tried to lift herself back up but the air was forced from her lungs when David's boot flew into her stomach. "You. WILL. Do. As. I say!" David yelled between kicks, Melinda's eyes widened as she struggled to catch a breath, "I hate you Melinda, I hate you so much" David whispered in her ear before grabbing a fistful of her hair and slamming her head against the ground over and over again, pain reverberated through Melinda's skull and she found herself unable to remain conscious, "ki..kill..me..pl..please" she whispered as she was shoved into darkness.

**_........I just keep getting meaner and meaner like we say Reagan- we'll take the anger out on Melinda LOL ...well, I'm not particularly angry but I was feeling a little bit bitchy so I thought I'd be a lil cruel, I know there's no Jim in this chapter but I wanna focus on what's happening to Melinda ....._**

Please review dolls xxxxxxx Lolly xxxxxxx


	35. Chapter 35

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended**

Remember y'all Melinda was taken on her birthday which was Thursday..............DRAMA!

................

**Sunday** afternoon....."WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" Christopher screamed at the police officer, "Mr Jenner, I understand your frustration, but we can't follow evidence that doesn't exist, I'm sorry, we just don't have any leads, there's nothing more my team can do until we find something new, all we can do is wait" he turned and walked back into his office shutting the door behind him, Christopher's fist flew into the wall and he cursed in anger, the police team were being called off of the search. They had announced that since there was no trail to follow and no sign that there _would_ be a trail any time soon, they were pretty much giving up. Christopher stormed out of the police station knocking three chairs over on his way out, he just threw them aside without even bothering to see if they hit anyone, he climbed into his car and pounded his fists into the steering wheel as he broke down in sobs "I just want my girl back" he cried.

* * *

Melinda had woken up on Sunday morning with a blinding headache, she was laying in a pool of her own blood and had new bruises ever where and more cuts across her neck which she didn't remember ever happening, David and Joe had been asleep until the sound of a police cars wailing siren neared them, both men jumped up and peered out of the window, Melinda could feel relief and hope lift her heart. Within seconds that hope was crushed, just as soon as the noise had come...it was gone, Melinda cried hopelessly as David laughed at her "I think we should end this soon, you're looking a little beaten" he joked, Melinda sobbed against the concrete floor as he dragged her limp body towards him "do you know Jim's number by heart?" he asked as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, Melinda gave a nervous nod and he handed it to her "I want you to dial the number, when he answers I want you to tell him to go up to his room without telling anyone who's calling, when he's in his room I want you to say goodbye to him and hand me the phone. I'm going to give him some instructions and if you so much as shake your head I will kill you right now. Have I made myself clear?" he asked, Melinda nodded weakly and dialled Jim's number with bloody fingers, he answered on the first ring "J...Jim, go up to our room and dd..'t tell anyone it's me" she said shakily as blood poured from her mouth.

Back at home, Jim lifted Olivia's head from his lap and rose from the couch, Olivia turned over without waking and Jim ran up to their cabin room "I'm up Melinda, where are you?" he asked frantically, she sobbed quietly "good.. Jim, I you" she said quietly, David took the phone from her and put it to his ear, "Jim, my name is David, I have some instructions for you so I want you to listen closely. Because of Melinda I spent the most part of this year in a cell, I had to watch my best friends die, I want you to know what that feels like, I want you to bring your father and come to where I am, do you think you can do that?" he asked calmly, "yes" Jim replied weakly, tears streamed down his face and he tried to even out his breathing, Melinda had now been missing for two days and he knew he had to do whatever he could to save her. "I need you to tell your father what I told you, I will call back in 24 hours with further instructions, meanwhile I have your bitch to help me pass the time" he said with a chuckle, Jim yelled out in frustration then remembered that he needed to keep his voice down "don't. Touch. Melinda" he growled angrily, "too late my man! She's under me right now, how does it feel to know that?" he asked, Melinda whimpered quietly as David wrapped his hand around her bruised neck and cried out when he gripped her waist and pulled her against him "stop! What are you doing to her!?" Jim demanded, David laughed "24 hours Jim" he said quietly before hanging up, Jim slid down the wall until he hit the floor and fell to pieces.

* * *

Jim had tried to call Christopher several times but couldn't reach him at the police station, Jim felt as though he was going to lose his mind with all the waiting, it wasn't until 5:00pm when he woke from a terror-filled sleep that Jim realised he had lost valuable hours, he glanced out the glass wall and saw that the police officers that Christopher had left with were sitting in the driveway again, that meant that Christopher must be back at the cabin. Jim made a painful effort to slow down his steps as he made his way down the stairs, "I need to talk to Chris, where is he?" he asked Mitch who was attempting to make dinner for everyone, he threw a glare at Jim "why? You wanna tell him to kill himself?" he snapped coldly, Jim flinched "Mitch, come on man, I didn't tell her to...-look, I'm not gonna fight with you right now. Where's dad?" he demanded, "screw you" Mitch growled before turning his back and going back to his cooking. Jim sighed and went into the living room, Holly had fallen asleep on Alexis' lap and Alexis was stroking her hair softly while watching Olivia unblinkingly, Olivia was on the second couch with her knees to her chest sobbing quietly. "Where's dad?" Jim asked quietly, Olivia showed no sign that she had heard and continued sobbing into her hands, Alexis' eyes stayed fixed on her but she still spoke "he said Melinda was sick in the woods, she took a bunch of painkillers, she wasn't planning on waking up. They found the van that took her away, there was blood in it and a needle with GHB and coke...it could be fatal, they found her clothes in that house, her cell phone was smashed to pieces and there was a whole lot of blood inside and on the roof. Christopher hasn't come out of the office since he went in there a couple of hours ago to identify her stuff, I just want you to know...we're all living with Livvy and Chris because something's wrong, we've lost people and been hurt, out of all of us Melinda was the one who was hurt the most, she needed to be loved and you made her feel hated...whatever your reasons, you better hope that they find her alive, because if she dies.." for the first time Alexis' red-rimmed eyes left Olivia and met Jim's, the look of pure hatred and disgust was almost too much for him to take and he considered looking away but resisted "....it will be your fault, if she dies...you as good as killed her yourself" she said before returning her gaze to Olivia.

Jim felt hot tears stream down his cheeks "I love her so much Lexy, I yelled out in the heat of the moment and I said something that makes me feel _sick _every time I think about it. You don't think I know that this is all my fault? She loved me, so what I said to her...she took it straight to heart, the fact that it came from the one person that she should be able to love and trust made it hurt that little bit more. They found her clothes...what do you think that means? She's out there somewhere with those sick bastards for company...you think they're just having a nice conversation?! You don't think that that's eating away at me?! You don't think that I want to die right now?!...Because I do...I do want to die, but the only thing that's keeping me going is the fact that Melinda may be okay...and until I know that, I'm not going anywhere" with that he stormed off to the office and shut the door behind him. Christopher had a full glass of straight vodka in front of him which he was glaring at intensely "we need to talk, this is serious and I need you to understand" he said, the troubled expression on his face was enough to catch Christopher's attention "what is it?" he asked, "Melinda called me...the guy, David, took over the call and said that you and I had to go to him...she's still alive, the guy said he'd call in 24 hours, that's 3:00pm tomorrow" he said with tears rolling down his cheeks. Christopher stood up to face him "Jim, did you speak to Melinda?" he asked desperately, "she told me to take the call up in my room and then she said goodbye and that she loved me...she sounded so...broken, David said that he would be..that he would be using her to pass the time.." Jim sobbed angrily and found it hard to get his words out in between "...he said...oh God Chris...he said that she was...she was under him...then he asked me how that made me feel...she was crying and..and he said that he wants us to watch her die like he watched his friends die...what are we gonna do?!" he sank into a chair and dropped his head into his hands. Christopher pulled him up roughly by the arm and wordlessly led him through the house and outside where the police car was stationed.

"Mr. Jenner" one of the officers greeted as he stepped out of the car, "David has made contact with my son, he's asked that Jim and I go to him, he will call at 3:00pm tomorrow, what do we do?" he asked frantically, the officer contemplated this for a second before speaking "we'll wire your phone up to the computer and trace them again, you can't alert them to the fact that anyone other than the two of you are there, do you have a licence to carry a firearm?" he asked Christopher who nodded "they will give you a time to meet them, you will carry your weapon with you to be used only as defence, NOT to carry out your own justice, we will have squad cars surround the place from a distance then our officers can move in undetected, we will have both of you wired to cameras and microphones so that we can see and hear what is happening, do you feel able to go?" he asked seriously, Jim and Christopher nodded without hesitation and the officer smiled "meet us out here at 12:00am, I suggest you try to get a good few hours sleep, we're one step closer to finding Melinda" he said before shaking their hands and returning to his car, Christopher breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "You think she's gonna be okay?" Jim asked, Christopher shook his head slowly "I think even if we get her home tomorrow she'll never be the same again" he said honestly, Jim nodded "I think she's gonna be different person" he agreed fearfully as they reached the house, "dinner's done" Mitch said flatly, Jim shot Christopher a questioning glance to see if he was going to tell the rest of the family what was going on but he shook his head slightly.

* * *

Melinda had spent the evening being beaten so bad that she knew nothing but the agony, the back of head was radiating a blinding pain throughout her head and down her spine, blood had poured from her nose when she was punched repeatedly and it had run down and settled across the side of her face only dripping occasionally now. Her left arm was nearly all purple from elbow to wrist with the occasional patch of dark blue, she knew it was broken – she had been thrown onto the floor roughly and landed awkwardly, when she had screamed out in pain David stomped on her fragile arm as hard as his body would allow. Melinda's neck was covered in blood from where David had dragged his knife across it a couple more times, her chest was covered in bruises and a large cut ran across her shoulder, bruises covered almost every visible inch of her stomach and back, her legs were scraped and bruised but not as seriously as the rest of her body though they were still causing her an immense amount of pain. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"Joe demanded, Melinda was shaking violently as her eyes rolled under fluttering lids, Joe slapped her face roughly and she struggled to focus on his eyes "I.I...I.I..c.'t .stop" she stammered as her chest began to feel like it was caving in on itself, she gasped as David shoved Joe out the way and pulled Melinda up so that she was sitting against the wall, her shaking eventually slowed to a calm shiver and she was able to focus again, "what was that?" David demanded, "I t..told you, I have hy..hypoglycaemia, when my blood sugar..-" she whimpered as his cold fingers wound around her throat, "enough of your whining. Get on your knees" he snarled, Melinda tried to do as she was told but was so weak that her body wouldn't respond, "III.I can't" she stammered, Davis pulled her up by her hair and threw her against the wall laughing when she screamed, "it's gonna be a good night Melinda, I can feel it".

................

It was 2:59pm on Monday morning when Jim and Christopher sat at a table with three police officers staring impatiently at Jim's cell phone, they had spent time preparing and now had tiny camera's invisibly placed on their bodies, they had been given bullet proof vests which Jim wore under a t-shirt and hooded jacket and Christopher wore under a tank top and shirt. Christopher's gun was strategically placed in the belt of his trousers where easily accessible and the two of them were ready to go. As the second hand on the clock ticked painfully slow a palpable tension clung to the room. At 3:00 the phone didn't ring, 3:01 Jim shifted uncomfortably in his chair, 3:02 Christopher wiped tears of fear and anger from his cold cheeks, 3:03 one of the officers sighed as the room remained otherwise silent, 3:04 Jim's heart began to pound painfully in his chest and his breath was uneven, 3:05...it happened.

"Hello?" Jim answered shakily, "hello Jim, how are you feeling today?" David's casual voice came, the police officers sprang into motion, two of them beginning to scribble down notes while the other tapped away on his laptop, "where's Melinda?" Jim demanded, "sorry, your girlfriend is...otherwise engaged" he replied with a chuckle, Jim ran a hand through his hair and attempted to calm his erratic heartbeat for fear of a heart attack, "I wanna talk to her", David sighed on the other end "that's not possible Jim, she hasn't been conscious since yesterday evening, quite lazy of her I must say..I don't know what her problem is, it's almost as if she doesn't like me!" he said with mock incredulity. Jim clenched his hands into fists at his sides "she's been much better company since she stopped screaming actually, we've had a very interesting night so far. I want to speak to your father" he demanded, Jim looked to Christopher who was glaring at the voice coming from the speakerphone, "I'm his father" he said curtly, "aah, so nice to finally speak to you. I never got a chance to chat with her last father before killed him, mostly he just begged me to let his wife go, beautiful woman she was...like her daughter. Anyway, enough of the past. I want you to watch her die like I watched my friends, it was all her fault, she's more trouble than she's worth. If you bring the police with you I will kill you and your boy without a second thought, just you and Jim, understand?" he demanded, "yes", "good, I will call you back with directions...when I feel like it" with a chuckle the call ended abruptly, "he hung up too fast, I have the area but not a specific location" a defeated officer sighed. Disappointment rang through the room as they now had no choice but to wait.

............

At 7:00pm, after David had just finished another round of torture which thankfully Melinda had remained unconscious for - though she was now damaged apparently beyond repair and shivering slightly from the overdose of drugs that her body had absorbed, Melinda's battered body was pulled up roughly by her broken arm and her head fell back limply as her wrists were bound tightly together, "I have a plan" David said as he added a fourth cable tie, "I'm listening" Joe replied curiously, "We'll hide her somewhere in here, I'll call her family and talk to them for a few seconds, I'll leave the phone on so they can trace it while you and I run, it'll give us time to get far enough away from here, she'll be dead...and we'll be free" he said slyly, Joe nodded with a cruel smile "can I kill her?" he asked, David shook his head "nah, I think I wanna finish what I started" he said as her cupped Melinda's sallow cheek with his large hand. He dropped her wrists from his other hand and she fell to the floor without any sign of life, "you sure she's not already dead?" Joe asked, David climbed on top of her and pressed two fingers into her purple neck, "still got a pulse...I think" he said indifferently, he grabbed Melinda's hips angrily and dug his fingers into her skin as he pulled her closer to him "might as well make use of the time we have left".

**...........UH OH..... Melinda's screwed y'all ....muHAHAHAHAH! Pweeease leeeaveee a review xxx Lolly xxx**


	36. Chapter 36

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended**

"Just do it!" Joe yelled later, Davis glared up at him as he ran the flat side of a thick knife between his fingers, "I'm gonna go start the car, make it quick" Joe grumbled before walking out the door, "say goodnight baby" he kissed her roughly as he tightened his grip on his blade, Melinda remained deeply unconscious as he pulled his hand up behind his head and with a deep grunt of force he plunged it into her chest just below her ribcage slightly to the left, Melinda didn't even flinch.

As blood began to pour steadily over her stomach and down onto the floor, David lifted Melinda in his arms carelessly holding her as far away from himself as he could, he held a dirty blanket around her to stop the blood from spilling as he carried her, Melinda's shallow and shaky breaths became laboured and took on a liquid sound. David smiled at his warped idea of justice as he went up to the top floor and walked through the concrete web until he found a completely tucked away room which would take a while to find, rounding a corner in the room he found a small alcove in the wall where she would be hidden from sight even if someone stepped into the room and glanced around, they would only find her body if they knew where to look. "You ruined my life Melinda, now I've taken yours, everything's right now, everything's the way it was meant to be" David hooked the cable ties around Melinda's wrists above her onto the door handle of a small cupboard and her head fell forward heavily so her chin landed on her chest, with one last satisfied glance he took a picture on his cell phone, dialled Jim's number and waited as he ran out to the car.

Jim and Christopher had been at the police station all day waiting for some kind of contact with Melinda "MY LITTLE GIRL'S BEEN MISSING FOR FIVE DAYS! I'M GOING CRAZY HERE!!!" Christopher yelled through angry tears at 7:00pm with a dry and scratchy voice, Jim's red eyes flickered up to him but his head stayed lazily on the steel table, "Mr. Jenner, I understand you're worried but I really need you to calm down, like I said, we can't do-" he was cut off by the clear ringing of Jim's cell phone, they all jumped and Christopher answered it quickly "hello?" he sobbed, "hello Christopher" David snarled, "I wanna talk to her", "no, I'm giving you a chance here , if you can find her you can keep her...let me rephrase, if you can find her...you can keep her _body_". As Christopher and Jim's eyes locked on one another and they shared a mutual pain so unbearable that neither of them could breathe. "I've got him" the police officer said grimly before anyone else could react Jim had checked over the guys shoulder and bolted from the room followed closely by Christopher, "Mr Jenner, please don't do this, you don't know what you could be walking into!!" an officer yelled after them but it was too late, they were going to find her, the next hour and a half passed in a blur, Christopher had the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes desperately trying to erase the horrific images running through his mind, Jim's eyes were focused on the road as he drove but he was more looking through it than at it, picturing the day he met Melinda, their silent communication and her reluctant trust, the first time that they ever kissed and how it wiped every coherent thought from his mind, the first time they made love on her birthday and how he had never felt so close to anyone, so emotionally tied to another being. Their car was followed a few minutes later by two cop cruisers and an ambulance, "we're here" Jim said as they pulled up to a freezing cold warehouse, busted windows framed by graffiti-covered concrete,-she didn't deserve to die like this, not here, not now- Christopher thought sadly.

At the Jenner's house Alexis was jolted awake by the sound of Olivia's blood curdling scream "mom" she mumbled quietly as she rolled pushed her chair away from the wooden kitchen table groaning as she felt her muscles stiffen, a small thud came from the living room and she ran towards it "LIVVY!" she screamed, Olivia was unconscious on the floor and a cold voice was ringing through the room "now we're even. hahah-. Now we're even. hahah-. Now we're even. hahah-." Over and over again coming from her cell phone which was face down a few feet away from her, Alexis cautiously picked it up and fought a wave of dizziness as she eyed the screen, on it was a picture of Melinda's body, although only wearing underwear, not an inch of her usually tanned skin was visible beneath the bruises and blood, strung up by cable ties with her head hanging limply, her stomach and legs were covered in crimson flowing from a large wound under her chest and blood soaked hair hung as a miserable curtain covering her face, "WHAT HAPPENED?!" came Mitch's voice as he bolted into the room with Holly's hand in his, Alexis remained silent as she stared at Melinda through the phone and listened to David's cruel voice as it played on a clipped loop "now we're even. Hahah-. Now we're even. Hahah-. Now we're even. Hahah-" "Lex?" Mitch asked in confusion, he kneeled beside her and pulled the phone from her hands "ohmygodMelinda" he breathed "she's..." he trailed off unable to finish and instead turned to Olivia "Liv?" he sobbed "Livvy wake up", she stirred and sat up slowly only to burst into heavy sobs as she looked around, Holly grabbed the phone from Mitch before he could protest and felt her stomach squeeze, she quickly handed it back and clamped a hand over her mouth while running to the bathroom.

Jim stepped out of the car onto limp legs and struggled to walk straight while fighting the urge to curl up and fall apart "I WILL DO THIS" he growled to himself, a police car flew in beside them and they both looked up "SHE'S MY DAUGHTER! Don't you dare try to stop me" Christopher spat. "Please be alive please please please be alive" Jim murmured over and over as he took the concrete steps two by two. "MELINDA!" he screamed, his eyes flying wildly around the gray vacuum he tugged at his hair with his trembling hands "it's impossible!", "if you're going to do this then take one of these" a breathless police officer commanded holding out walky-talkies, Christopher and Jim took them gratefully, "we'll start at the top" Christopher said ushering Jim to the elevator.

As they stepped out onto the top floor Jim pulled his hoody closer around his body against the biting frost in the air, I'll go left, you go right!" Christopher yelled before running off screaming out Melinda's name in desperation, Jim copied in the other direction and fought against the drumming in his own ears to hear for any small sounds. After five minutes of sprinting he began to lose hope, "SHE's NOT HERE!" Christopher yelled as he neared Jim, "which way back?", "I can't remember" Jim said with exasperation, they followed the hallway to its end quickly and turned left into a small room, "I didn't come this way, this isn't it" he breathed, "Jim, do you smell that?" Christopher asked with dread churning in his empty stomach, Jim sniffed the air lightly and his stomach rolled "blood" he 'half said/half gagged' they stepped further into the room with caution and looked around.

"Oh god" Jim whimpered as he registered a trail of blood, he followed it around a corner and his breath caught in his dry throat "dad" he croaked, Christopher was beside him in an instant steadying him as he swayed "Jim, press four on the radio and tell them to get up here" he demanded. "We...we found her..top floor" Jim whimpered into the device, cable ties were almost buried into Melinda's massacred wrists as her weight hung from them with her knees folded beneath her on the frozen floor. Melinda's skin was so pale that it made her look unreal, like a painting that wasn't quite done right, her hair hid her face as her chin rested on her bloodied chest, bruises and blood covered so much of her that she was almost unrecognisable. Christopher reached forward hesitantly and pressed two fingers into her neck, "she's alive?" he asked himself in a disbelieving whisper as he felt the soft and gentle thrumming of her heart against his trembling fingers. He held his breath nervously, lifted Melinda's arms from the door and pulled her gently into his arms, her head fell back and a strangled sound escaped her throat- almost as if she were screaming underwater- before she jerked slightly, her body shivered fiercely and a crimson waterfall fell from her mouth and down her chin, Christopher shuddered as he pushed her hair back from her face and sat her body up against his, "is she...?" Jim rasped, "she's alive", he laced his fingers through hers and frowned at the deathly low temperature of her delicate hand.

Christopher let out a rattling breath as his chest was shaken by something and focused his ears on the screaming sobs which filled the room, watching as torrents of blood flowed from Melinda's mouth and her body retched, when the cries didn't subside he looked to Jim who was on his knees with Melinda's hand to his mouth as he pressed a million kisses to it, wondering where the noise was coming from he looked around but found no one else, through blind eyes he looked to himself and gasped, his chest was shaking because HE was the one crying, wailing like the world had ended, it sounded like metal being torn apart and a heart breaking at the same time. As he attempted to calm himself he rocked Melinda slowly in his arms whispering to her the whole time, her blue lips shivered and her eyes remained closed as he held her "Is she breathing?!" came the frantic voice of a paramedic, he nodded and kissed her blood-wet head before standing with her and gently passing her to the man "we'll take good care of her, follow us to the hospital" he commanded. Before he could move his son's shaking body was in his arms "sh..she's al..alive" Jim sobbed into his shoulder, "she's alive" Christopher replied, he pulled Jim back by the shoulders and kissed his head "let's go" he whispered, they ran from the building and jumped in the elevator with the paramedics who had Melinda on a gurney and were furiously working to clean her up so that they could see her wounds, "stab wound under left breast, possible punctured lung cause of extensive haemorrhaging. Laboured breathing, partial obstruction of airway, low pulse and BP, not responsive" "She was stabbed?" Jim asked in horror as he desperately attempted to keep himself upright, watching blood pour steadily from Melinda's chest and over her sunken stomach. "Melinda? Can you hear me?" the paramedic asked as they ran from the elevator, Jim watched helplessly as his love disappeared behind the doors of the ambulance and it sped away not even giving him a chance to say goodbye, "I'll drive" a young female police officer offered with a smile, "Jim, you need to go home and get some of Melinda's things for her, she'll need them when she wakes up" Christopher commanded leaving no room for complaint or discussion.

"I'll meet you there" Jim replied before Christopher drove off with the officer, "come with me" an older man said, Jim jumped into the car and prayed as hard as he could that he would be there when Melinda woke up as they raced down the freeway so fast that it almost felt as though the tyres had left the ground, Jim was gripping the door handle so hard that his knuckles were snowy white "Livvy?" he asked into his phone, "it's Mitch, Livvy's laying down right now, we were sent a picture, she told the police but they said that you guys were already on your way there, what in God's name did they do to her?!...They...killed my baby sister" he sobbed brokenly, "no, no Mitch, she's alive, they took her to the hospital, I'm on my way home now, could you start packing some of Mel's stuff?".

"She's...she's alive? She's alive! Jim? Please hurry okay, I need my sister back" he cried, Jim smiled through his tears "I'm almost there man, pack quick". They were soon pulling into the house and met by a frantic Olivia "she's alive?!" she cried, Jim nodded "she's alive", Olivia threw herself into his arms and sobbed against his chest as he held her tightly. Holly and Alexis were holding hands as they walked out of the door, "she's alive" Jim said through his tears of joy, neither of the girls spoke but glared at him so coldly that he could feel the frost gripping his heart, even worse...he knew they were right...it was his fault."Lexy..." he trailed off not knowing how to start, "I'll come with you Jim" Olivia cried into his chest as he ran his hands softly through her hair, "let's go, I don't want her to wake up without us" Jim replied.

..................WoooooooooooT! LOL Review! Xxxxxxx...................


	37. Chapter 37

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended**

Love y'all, thank you for every single review I've ever received xx Lovin xx Lolly xx

Jim and Olivia raced into the house at 100mph and ran into Melinda's bedroom where Mitch was frantically throwing clothes into a bag "Livvy, go pack some clothes for you and Chris, I'll help Mitch do me and Melinda" he said, she nodded and ran back down to her room, Jim pulled out a large sports bag and shoved some clothes from each shelf of Melinda's wardrobe, he pulled underwear and bras from her drawers, which Mitch hadn't felt right going through, and swept some of the lotions up from the dresser. He ran into the bathroom and grabbed her toothbrush while Mitch got all other necessities, he gave the room a once over to see if there was anything he was forgetting and then gathered some of his stuff from his room. "I'll call you bro" Jim yelled to Mitch as he bolted down the stairs and reached the kitchen just as Olivia was running out of hers and Chris' bedroom. "Let's go" he said holding the front door open for her, she ran through it and waited while the garage opened then jumped into Jim's car, Jim stuffed the bags into the trunk and climbed in after her, he pulled out of the driveway and drove so fast that he did the 40 minute journey in 20.

People in the ER looked up as Jim and Olivia searched frantically for Christopher. A young woman crying silently as she cradled a tiny baby in her arms, a little girl with copper curls and bright green eyes held her stomach tightly as she wailed in pain, a boy around Jim's age held his girlfriends hand as she cried, her face was tinted sickly green and beads of sweat clung to her skin. People's eyes followed them intently as Jim grabbed Olivia's hand and pulled her to where he could see a doctor talking to Christopher "where is she?" he demanded quickly, the doctor turned to him. Her porcelain complexion glowed slightly under the bright hospital lights and her icy blue eyes seemed to hold more pain than one person should feel. "Melinda has been taken into surgery, she had a ruptured spleen which caused severe internal haemorrhaging, because she was left for so long that the damage is really extensive, the stab wound to her chest punctured her left lung and it filled with blood pretty quickly, the fact that she was held up by her wrists actually saved her life, if she had been lying down then her airway would have been completely obstructed. We know that she has many broken bones but I'm not sure as yet exactly what other injuries she suffered, I won't know until they're able to stop the bleeding and they can stabilise her, they can't operate with her pulse and blood pressure so low. I'm really sorry, there's not much else I can tell you right now, but as soon as I hear something I'll come back down, you guys can wait in the private family room" she pointed them down the hallway and hurried off as her pager beeped. Jim followed Christopher until Olivia's quiet sobs became further away, he looked back to see her leaning her head against the wall as her hands gripped a wooden railing which ran along, she looked as though her knees were about to give way and Jim knew that the days of torment had caught up with her. "Chris!" he called before running to Olivia, he wrapped his arms around her and she buried her head in his chest, "what if she doesn't make it?!" she cried "what if I never get to hold her again, I can't take that Jim, I can't...I can't" Jim kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back tenderly, "she will make it" he whispered, Christopher gave Jim a small smile and pulled Olivia into his arms "she'll be okay baby, she'll be okay" he walked with his arm around her waist holding her up.

* * *

They made their way to the family room and sat down in the new looking armchairs, seconds passed, then minutes, then hours... "NO! NO! Please God, no, I'll do anything, I'll do anything if you just let my girl live. Please! You have to do something" Olivia had screamed, the young doctor had come into the family waiting room and told them that it didn't look as though they would be able to operate on Melinda as she was in such bad condition, if they didn't operate she could die, but if they did, she'd **definitely** die. "I'm sorry Mrs Jenner, there's nothing we can do, we just have to wait this out, if Melinda's last results come back with sufficient improvement then we'll move ahead with surgery, until then, all we can do is wait. I'm so sorry" she had whispered sadly before walking out, Christopher had held Olivia around the waist as she doubled over with pained cries "please...please don't let her die, I'll give anything..." she whimpered. It was another hour before the same nurse came rushing in "Melinda's been stabilised and she's in surgery, they managed to get her heart rate and blood pressure back to normal, she had gone into a hypoglycaemic coma, she was immediately put onto a glucose drip and she's doing okay for now, they need to work fast to drain the blood that's collecting in her lungs, she had quite a few broken bones and such severe bruising that we're seriously worried about blood clots, but because of the stab wound we can't start thrombolytics until she's been sutured. Your daughter sustained several severe head injuries which caused significant intracranial swelling, we can't be sure that there won't be any lasting damage from that combined with the seizures", "are you saying that she might have brain damage!?" Christopher asked, the doctor nodded "it's a possibility, we won't know until the swelling has gone down completely and Melinda is conscious, surgery won't be over for quite a few hours yet, are you okay to wait here?" she asked, Olivia nodded as tears streamed down her face.

The doctor left and Olivia turned to Christopher with fear shining brightly in her eyes "she might have brain damage...what if she can't walk or talk, what if she can't live?" she asked desperately, Christopher sunk into a chair and pulled Olivia down onto him, he stroked her hair silently and clamped his eyes shut against the tears. Jim sobbed into his hands as his world crashed down around him, his heart ached so bad that he doubled over and clutched his chest.

The surgeon took a scalpel, carefully he pierced Melinda's skin on the right side of her chest just between her bottom ribs, "suction" he demanded, a nurse held Melinda's head back at an awkward angle while another forced a long tube down her throat, an image of Melinda's trachea appeared on a screen above her and the nurse watched carefully as she pushed the tube further and further "I'm in" she declared, a loud slurping noise filled the room and blood ran up through the tube into a wide measuring cylinder beside the operating table, "hold" the surgeon commanded, the suction was turned off and he placed a hooked needle onto the end of a steel rod, he pushed this through the incision he had made in Melinda's chest, an image of the outside of Melinda's left lung came up on a second screen, he worked delicately to suture the stab wound "suction, external" a nurse placed a suction tube in the same place as the needle and quickly cleared the blood away so he could finish, suddenly the steady beep on Melinda's heart monitor became erratic "she's crashing! I need 10cc's of adrenaline intravenously, now!" the surgeon yelled, a nurse injected it quickly into Melinda's I'V and a doctor began chest compressions, "she's not responding, I need the AED!" he yelled, a nurse handed him the paddles of an Automated External Defibrillator, he lay two pads on Melinda's chest, one high on the right side and one lower on the left, he lay the paddles down "charging 220...clear" the pads gave a long buzz then the sound of a stapler being pressed down.

Melinda's body gave a small jerk and the heart monitor screamed out one long continuous beep, the doctor did a few more chest compressions before taking the paddles back "charging 300...clear" a louder noise shot from the device and Melinda's whole body convulsed. "We have a rhythm" a nurse called, "she's not breathing without the tube, keep it in, we need to hurry, give me a wire", a nurse handed the surgeon a thick wire which he attached to one half of a badly broken rib, he then screwed the other half onto it and tightened the bolt so that it was held together and no longer pressing down on Melinda's lungs, he repeated the process with four more ribs, the others were all okay to heal by themselves. "Suction" a small incision had been made into Melinda's upper left abdomen and the nurse drained blood that was gathering from her ruptured spleen, "blood pressure is stable", once the surgeon was finished he stitched up the stab wound and incisions he had made and cleaned them, "suture please" he asked holding a gloved hand out for another needle, he closed a large wound on the back of Melinda's head and a smaller one on the right side of her forehead before moving to the deep slashes across her throat, "we're done here, can you put a cast on her arm and do the dressings while I go talk to the family?" he asked, the nurse nodded "sure".

* * *

Christopher looked up with tired red-rimmed eyes when the surgeon walked in, Olivia was curled up on his lap with her head against his chest, she had fallen asleep a few hours earlier, Jim was also asleep with his head resting on folded arms. "Is Melinda okay?" Christopher croaked, the surgeon shook his head sadly "she's not doing as well as I had hoped, we had a little problem halfway, her heart was under so much stress that it tried to give up, but we resuscitated her and the surgery was successful, Melinda had to have five of her ribs wired back together so that they set right, her lung was punctured and filled with blood, her spleen had ruptured and she had severe haemorrhaging. I've done my part for now, she's going to be sent down for a special type of scan that we use for patients with high risk of blood clots, it helps us monitor the circulation" just then Melinda's doctor walked in and the surgeon left with a quiet goodbye, the doctor took a look at Olivia and Jim, still sleeping, and spoke in a hushed voice "Mr. Jenner, we took a sexual assault and rape kit...it was positive, I'm _so_ sorry" she said softly, Christopher ran a hand through his hair and scrubbed tears from his cheeks, "she..she was..." he couldn't bring himself to say it even though he knew it all along, the doctor nodded "yes, but Melinda tested negative for everything. ..." she sat in the chair beside him and rested her hand on his arm, "Melinda's not breathing on her own, we're going to have to put her life support until she improves, another major concern for us is the fact that Melinda was injected regularly with such a high concentration of cocaine, we're not sure how her body will react to withdrawal, she's going to be very weak for a long time, Melinda will be taken to the intensive care unit later on and as soon as I can I'll permit visitors, you guys are going to have to use the staff showers and put on some hospital sweats before you go in, Melinda's very vulnerable to infection and illness right now. Hopefully by the time they wake up I'll be ready for you, there's really nothing we can do right now but hope for the best, there's a high risk of cardiac arrest, blood clots, and another seizure could be very damaging if not fatal" she said in a warning tone, willing Christopher not to get his hopes up as she knew that there was a pretty good chance that Melinda may never wake up.

"Do you think...do you think she'll make it? Please tell me the truth" Chris whispered, "I can't say that Mr. Jenner, Melinda is not in a good condition right now and if things don't improve then the odds are stacked against her, but I can tell you that we've done absolutely everything that we can to give your daughter the best chance of survival, we're not going to give up on her Christopher, Melinda could wake up any time from tonight to next week, no matter what happens, we're going to give her the best care we can", "thank you doctor" he whispered tearfully as she left. Christopher tightened his arms around Olivia's small body and buried his head into her caramel hair to cry "please let her live" he whispered, a desperate mantra over and over. Olivia woke a couple of hours later and looked up at Christopher, his eyes were puffy and red and tears were still streaming swiftly down his cheeks, "Chris...?" she whispered "hey honey, you okay?" he asked wiping at his cheeks and trying to be strong for her, "don't pretend it's okay for me, tell me what's going on" Olivia said softly, just then Jim tossed from one side to the other "Melinda...?" he whispered in his sleep before waking with a start "where is she?" he asked as soon as he locked eyes with Christopher. Christopher couldn't stop the tears that flooded back down "she should be in ICU by now, they..." he shook his head and kissed the top of Olivia's head not able to talk, "Chris?" she asked, "her heart stopped during surgery but they managed to get her back, they said that...that she...can't breathe by herself and she has to go on life support, they're not sure that she's gonna make it".

Olivia shook her head as tears streamed down her face, "Mr and Mrs Jenner, Mr Clancy.." a small nurse said quietly as she entered "..I'm here to take you down to the showers, once you're done you can go and see Ms Gordon", they jumped up and followed her down to a room that looked like a school locker room with huge blu lockers and benches in the middle and a shower room off to the side, the three of them showered quickly and dressed in pale gray hospital sweats. "Follow me" the three of them followed the nurse up to ICU, Christopher held onto Olivia tighter as they passed a screaming woman covered in blood, her husband stood on the sidelines as doctors rushed around her and she writhed in agony. "She's in here, I have to ask you to wear these" she handed them masks to cover their mouths and pulled one on herself, the door was opened and Olivia whimpered in shock.

Jim's breath caught as he looked at Melinda, she had a thick endotracheal tube down her throat which almost made Jim gag just looking at it, it led back to a machine which looked like the middle of an accordion, it pumped up and down with a whooshing sound forcing air in and out of Melinda's lungs and an intravenous drip ran into the crease of her right elbow "they're the only things that are keeping her alive" Olivia whispered as she eyed the horrid machinery.

_**...now all they could do was wait.**_

**Xxxxx REVIEW DOLLZ xxxxX**


	38. Chapter 38

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended**

Jim lay his head beside Melinda's bruised stomach finding comfort in the gentle rise and fall of her chest, he pretended that there was no one else in the room and they were laying in bed together just like normal "can you forgive me for what I said to you that night?...because I don't think I'll ever forgive myself" he whispered to her softly as tears streamed down his cheeks "I know that you're probably scared and hurt and sad and it's my fault. If I hadn't have hurt you so badly...I'm just so in love with you, I have been since the day you came, I never told you this but I was watching from the balcony when you went out to say goodbye to Lisa, I saw how you cried as she drove off, how you were left alone and vulnerable...I thought to myself, 'you know exactly how she feels, you know what she's going through...how conflicted she feels...devastated at the loss of her parents, relieved to be getting out of care, the pain of saying goodbye to the one person you had to hold on to through it all, abandonment- as you watched that car drive away from you, hope- that maybe one day you'll feel like yourself again and then guilt...oh the guilt, you feel so bad for even thinking that you could possibly move on, like you should be punished for even considering life after their death. I climbed down from the roof and walked up to you, the wind blew the front door shut and you jumped, you spun around and I was right there next to you...you just assumed I walked out the conventional way, didn't you ever wonder why I was on the opposite side to the door? I guess not. I wasn't just looking into your eyes that day ...Melinda, I was looking into your heart, I saw every emotion that you were feeling, I felt how confused you were by everything that was happening...there was a moment where we just stood in silence, I was trying to figure out how someone so beautiful, so perfect, could have been caused so much pain. You looked afraid, not afraid of me, just...afraid. I swore to myself right there that I would never let anything make you feel that afraid again...I broke that promise, I hurt you so much that day that I made you...I made you want to end your life. I should have just said 'Melinda you're not getting better, you've been sick for weeks and you never eat or drink anything...' and then you'd stick that lip out and pout at me which would make both of us smile because you know I can't say no to the pout, then I'd kiss you and I'd say 'I only worry so much because I love you' and you'd look at me like I had just given you the world and you'd tell me you loved me too. Melinda wake up...wake up so I can tell you that I love you" he begged. Jim broke down in sobs and held Melinda's fragile hand in his own "wake up" he sobbed. Meanwhile Melinda's mind struggled to wake itself from a strange dream-

_**-"Wake up so I can tell you that I love you...wake up" came a broken and sad voice, Melinda's face screwed up in confusion "who are you, Jim, is that you?" she asked, suddenly the room morphed into another place completely, she was sitting by the stream near the house with Jim by her right side and holding her hand, Jim squeezed her fingers until she thought they were going to break, she screamed out in pain but Jim didn't stop and a pleasant smile remained on his face, Melinda looked down and gasped when she realised that Jim wasn't touching her at all- she was doing it to herself. She wrenched her hands apart and blood poured from her palms to her fingertips, she ran to the stream and let the cool water soothe them but flinched when something stabbed her, Melinda squinted her eyes and saw that beneath the black surface of the water were millions of syringes shooting down the stream like metal and plastic fish. She quickly pulled her hands out of the stream and screamed when they came out with needles sticking out in every direction from her fingertips to her elbows. She looked to Jim for help but he was frozen in a mask of peace, smiling serenely. She looked back down to her hands and there was absolutely nothing wrong with them, "You would have been better off dead" came David's harsh whisper, Melinda looked up to see him standing on the other side of the stream, she stood up and looked at him questioningly "look at what you're doing to them" he said in response, Melinda turned back to see Jim crying over her body, Christopher and Olivia were frozen in time, Olivia was doubled over in pain and Christopher was supporting her as she cried. Although they didn't move Melinda could hear their voices "NOOOO! My baby! That's my little girl!" came Olivia's distraught cry, "Honey she's gone, she did this to herself" Christopher said. Melinda cried out in frustration as she struggled to claw to the surface of the alternate world she was drowning in-**_

"Oh Melinda..." came a soft whimper from behind Jim, his head whipped around and he found Lisa standing with a shaky hand covering her mouth, "they found her...." she whispered brokenly, Jim nodded "she was gone for four days, David....he stabbed her, they raped and beat her and now she can't wake up, they say she....she could have serious brain damage if she lives...._**If**_ she lives, God, how did it come to this?" he sobbed, Lisa walked hesitantly towards the bed and broke down in heart-breaking cries and she touched Melinda's pallid cheek, "Mel...you didn't deserve this, you never did anything wrong and yet you've suffered so much...it...it just isn't fair, you're such a wonderful girl, you never hurt anyone or anything..." "stop it" Jim growled, she looked up at him in fright and he glared at her "stop saying goodbye, she's gonna make it, I wish everyone would just stop acting like this is the end! SHE ISN'T GOING TO DIE!" he cried, Lisa wrapped her arms around him and he sobbed into her shoulder. "Please don't take her away from me, I can't lose her, I can't handle it", "they're doing everything they can sweetie, all we can do is wait and see, you have to have hope Jim, Melinda's a fighter" she said softly, Jim nodded and wiped his eyes trying to calm himself down. Lisa stayed for a few more hours until the night nurses came to wash, change and medicate Melinda, Jim waited outside and returned to his place as soon as they were done. That evening Holly, Mitch, Alexis and John came to visit, the hours were filled with tears and comfort with many cold glares thrown in Jim's direction.

* * *

Days went by...Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday.... Alexis, John, Mitch and Holly had all been ordered to go home on Sunday despite their protests, Olivia and Christopher were staying in the family room while Jim slept in a bed next to Melinda's, the nurses had asked countless times that he move to the family room but he completely refused.

Week 2...Melinda's deep slumber was occasionally interrupted by violent seizures which threatened her chances of ever waking up by some frustratingly large percentage. Joe had been found murdered in one of the cars they had used, David had slit his throat with the same knife he used to stab Melinda.

Week 3.... Melinda was flown back to Mercy General Hospital with Christopher while Olivia and Jim had to make the torturous two day drive. Most of her bruises had faded leaving her looking peacefully asleep, David was found and arrested after holding up a liquor store, he was taken to jail to await trial but later hung himself....they were all gone now.

Week 4..At 7:00pm on Wednesday, just over a full month since she was admitted, the beep of Melinda's heart monitor began to speed up which they knew preceded a seizure, Olivia pressed the red call button and Jim kissed Melinda's head before stepping aside. Jim covered his eyes and turned away as he saw Melinda's delicate hands ball into fists at her side. The noise of doctors shouting orders was followed by the sound of something Jim feared he may never hear again...Melinda's voice, it was garbled, broken sounds wrapped around the tube in her throat, she whimpered before relaxing and falling back into unconsciousness, Jim looked around at the doctor in disbelief but she just shook her head apologetically, she explained that it's not uncommon for a comatose patient to make small sounds during a seizure "but you have to be optimistic, because if that really was her...she's trying as hard as she can to come back to you" she soothed before leaving them alone again. Olivia ran out of the room in tears followed by her loving husband. Jim reclaimed his position by Melinda's side and pulled his chair up as close as it could go, he kissed her head softly and let the tears roll down his cheeks and onto hers, "please come back to me" he whispered, Melinda remained still...a sort of anti-climax, Jim had prayed that maybe this time was it...maybe this time he could bring her back, he talked to her for a while letting her know that it was his one and only dream for her to be okay, in a moment of insanity he swore he heard her heart beat a little faster as he leaned over her bed and kissed her before running his fingers lightly across her cheek.

_**-Melinda lay paralyzed as a beautiful young man hovered over her, fear struck the chords of her heart as she looked into his piercing blue eyes and realised that she did not recognise his face, she did not recognise her own mind. **_Whoare you?_** she tried to speak but found herself unable to force any sound from her mouth, the boy kissed her softly and ran his fingers across her cheek, an angel, you're my angel-once again unable to speak aloud. "Wake up my love, it's Jim, come back to me...I don't think my life would be worth living if you weren't in it" he whispered. Before Melinda had a chance to reply she found herself in the passenger's seat of the boy's car, he was sitting in the driver's seat with a bottle of Vodka to his lips, he swallowed the last drop and dropped the bottle in Melinda's lap "you're name is Jim?" she asked resting the bottle on the floor, "an angel named Jim?" she asked with a chuckle,"how could you leave me? I loved you, why did you take that away from me?" he sobbed, Melinda realised that he couldn't see her at all, "Angel! Jim I'm right here!" she screamed, he pulled out onto the main road and pulled a bottle of scotch from Melinda's hands, where it had just appeared, and took a swig, Melinda's eyes widened in fear when she saw that the speedometer read 90mph, "JIM! I'm sorry that I left...and I'm sorry that I don't remember and I'm so sorry that you're hurting but you need to slow down, JIIIIM!" her efforts were futile. Jim rested his head on the steering wheel for a second and looked up just in time to see a pair of glaring headlights only seconds away, Melinda's mind was pulled back into darkness with the sound of her angel's scream-**_

Melinda had a white liquid running through the IV for her night feed and her skin was looking a little more flushed and human, with all of her bruises gone she looked peaceful-like she was just taking a nap, Jim kissed her head and smoothed her silky hair down.

"I love you Melinda, and I'll wait forever if that's how long it takes for you to come back" Jim whispered.

Love you all.......Have fun in Glasgow Reagan xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lolly xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	39. Chapter 39

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

.............CANT WAIT TO LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!! HEHEHEHEHE ..............

Jim pulled the covers over Melinda and kissed her head as he had done every other night, he sat down and breathed in the soft scent of her hair "I love you baby" he whispered before drifting into a light sleep slumped over the side of her bed. He was woken at 11:30 by Melinda trembling beside him, he sat bolt upright in terror and studied her heart monitor, it wasn't high enough for him to call the doctor down so he just ran his hands up and down her arms in comfort, after a moment she stopped shivering and her eyes began to move beneath her lids, Jim picked up her hand "Mel! MELINDA!! Baby if you can hear me squeeze back" he said squeezing her fingers a little too hard in excitement, there was no movement for a second and then her pinky finger wrapped around his, "Melinda it's Jim" he whispered to her and this time he knew he wasn't mistaken in thinking that he'd heard her heart rate speed up, she looked towards him and blinked in surprise looking terrified, "you're awake, it's really you...I'm gonna call the doctor!" he said excitedly through tears of relief, he pressed the call button and the doctor came rushing in with two nurses on her heels "another seizure?" she asked worriedly "she's awake" Jim said with tears streaming down his face, "Jim, are you sure?" the doctor asked, he nodded persistently "she was shivering but her heart rate was normal and then her eyes started moving, I told her to squeeze my hand if she could hear me and she moved a finger then I told her I was here and she turned and looked at me" he said. The doctor's expression was a mixture of hope and sympathetic disbelief, she pulled Melinda's eyelid up gently and shone a light at her, Melinda blinked and squeezed her eyes shut, "she's awake" the doctor whispered in disbelief, "remove the tubes, I need her off the ventilator now!" Jim flinched as Melinda spluttered and the large tube was pulled quickly from her throat by a nurse, Jim's small whimper at the sight of it was drowned out by the doctor's voices- once again giving commands, demanding medicine and assistance, Jim crumpled into an armchair as he watched Melinda be poked and prodded-needles and stethoscopes, I.V's and clipboards. One seizure, three pulse drops, and twenty-eight minutes later and Jim was left alone with a semi-conscious Melinda, "baby, please try, please talk to me" he begged, Melinda stared blankly at the ceiling and refused to meet Jim's gaze, he reached out to touch her hair but she flinched away from him and pushed herself as far to the other side of the bed as she possibly could with her broken arms.

"It's over Melinda, I promise you, it's over, you're safe now" Jim smiled down at her and trailed his fingers across her cheek, Melinda gasped and turned her face away from him, Jim quickly pulled his hand away in defeat and let his tears run freely down his cheeks, "please come back to me...remember" he pleaded, Melinda reluctantly let her eyes fall on him before they slowly fell closed, "Melinda!" Jim yelled in fear that she would become unconscious once again, Melinda's eyes opened again and she looked questioningly at Jim, "I don't want to lose you again" he explained, Melinda attempted to sit herself up but her arms failed her and she collapsed back to the bed breathless from the effort. Tears rolled fast down her pallid cheeks, Jim stood up to help her but she flinched again in terror and held her hands up to shield herself "I'll get a nurse" he said before rushing from the room, a young woman came and lifted Melinda from under her arms into a sitting position, Jim gasped as he saw her ribs poking against the woman's hands and her head fell back as if there were no bones or muscles holding her together, "sorry" the nurse muttered as she brought her arms around Melinda's weak body to support her as you would a baby, she used pillows to prop her up, Jim phoned Olivia and left her a message, simply saying 'she's awake' without leaving Melinda's side. She had fallen asleep and her angelic face was framed by her silky dark hair. Jim held her and pulled one of the pillows from her back allowing her to lay down properly "sleep well love" he whispered to her before kissing her lips softly, Melinda shuddered in her sleep and Jim sighed.

A different nurse came round every five minutes to check Melinda's vitals and every time Jim was given good news, it was 3:00am when Olivia ran from the family room and came bursting through the doors, she caught sight of Melinda, who could easily be mistaken for comatose, and collapsed to her knees in sobs "you lied to me, you told me she was awake...what kind of sick joke is this?!" she sobbed into her hands, Jim dropped to his knees beside her and pulled her into his arms only holding her tighter as she struggled "she's just fallen asleep, she was awake and looking around only a few hours ago, I swear to you, look- there's no tube...Melinda's okay" he promised, Olivia's whole body shook against his own as she bawled into his chest, "ssshhh, it's okay, we're gonna be okay mom-" they both paused simultaneously in shock as the word spilled from his lips, "you called me mom" Olivia whispered searching his eyes for regret or anger but all he felt was love "you are my mom Livvy, you're not just a babysitter, you're not just a guardian...you're my mom" he said sincerely in realisation of its truth, Olivia clung to Jim like her life depended on it and over her shoulder Jim watched as Melinda stirred. "Look" he said turning Olivia around, she gasped and ran to Melinda's side "baby, are you awake?" she asked desperately, Melinda's eyes moved beneath her lids and her head turned towards Olivia, her eyes fluttered open and she shivered "YOU'RE AWAKE!" Olivia yelled before pulling Melina into her arms, Melinda screamed and pushed her hands against Olivia's chest, the casts on her arms hitting her hard, she covered her ears with her hands and clamped her eyes shut, Olivia had stumbled back towards Jim who held her hand and pressed the red call button on the wall. A tall woman with pale skin and fiery red hair ran in "what happened?" she said as she took in the scene before her, Melinda continued to shiver furiously and kept her hands clamped over her ears, a nurse ran in and the doctor sent her to get some kind of medicine "I'm so sorry....I just..I just wanted to hold her" Olivia sobbed, Jim pulled her close to his chest "ssssh, sssh, it's not your fault" he whispered as he stroked her hair.

"I think we need to avoid physical contact as much as possible, no sudden moves, no loud noises, I don't want any fighting, arguing or yelling" the doctor demanded, Jim nodded as the nurse ran back in with a small steel trolley which had various instruments on it, the doctor quickly filled a needle and injected it into the line of Melinda's IV, it took less than a minute to work and soon Melinda had stopped rocking, the nurse pulled her into a laying position and covered her gently. "She won't wake again for a few hours, I need you to be very calm when she does".

Thursday morning... Jim had slept in the family room with Christopher and Olivia the night before, he climbed into the shower and prepared himself for what he knew was going to be a very hard day.

Melinda looked around her empty room and cried, a nurse came in quickly "sweety, what's the matter, are you in pain?" she asked softly, Melinda continued to sob but stayed silent, "I have to take you to the shower honey, do you want to try standing?" the nurse asked, the casts had been taken off her arms earlier that morning though one was still in a brace, Melinda slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed after the nurse unclipped her from all the machines, "sweetheart, can you talk? Can you tell me how you're feeling?", Melinda ignored the woman and took a small step by herself before wobbling on her weak legs. The nurse helped Melinda into her wheelchair, they made it to the bathroom and Melinda was finally allowed to dress in her own clothes, the nurse opened the bag which she knew Jim had packed for Mel and rummaged around.

Melinda's tears began falling again –_"at least then the family could get over it and move on!"-_ _he hates me-_ she thought to herself, her body ached and the nurse had to help her shower and then pull on some loose cotton pants and a black tank top, "you're doing really well honey, just a few more steps, good girl" Melinda had made it back to the bed almost by herself but was breathless from the effort by the time she got there. Just as she was propped up by the nurse her doctor came in "hello again sweetheart, how are those arms feeling?" she asked sitting beside her, Melinda stared blankly out of the window and the doctor sighed "Melinda, honey, I need to know if you can make a fist with each hand, can you do that for me please?", Melinda did as she was told slowly with her tired hands and the doctor smiled. "Good girl, would you look at me Melinda?", Melinda kept her eyes fixed on the sky outside and pulled her hand away. A gentle knock rapped at the door and Melinda jumped, tears of fright begin to roll down her cheeks and the doctor tried her best to calm her down. "Come in" the woman called, Jim popped his head around the door and gasped "you're awake, I..I mean..hi, hi uh, morning" he stuttered nervously, Melinda's eyes left the window and met Jim's hopeful gaze

_**-**__**Melinda spun around and found herself face to face with the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen; he was quite a bit taller than her with messy near black hair and piercing blue eyes, he was wearing a long sleeved black t-shirt and dark jeans and even through the fabric she could see that his body was ripped. Both feeling a strange kind of electricity jumping between them, they stood in the rain staring at each other intensely, Melinda with a slight look of fear-her eyes were a little wider than normal and her lips parted to form a surprised 'O', and the boy with a troubled expression- a slight crease in between his eyes and a set jaw as if he were trying to decode a complex equation.**_

_**Without a word the boy picked up the smallest of the bags and lifted the strap onto Melinda's shoulder, he then picked up both of her large suitcases, one in each hand and gave a slight nod towards the door.**_

-she snapped out of the flashback and shuddered, "Melinda, do you think I could leave you two alone for a while?" the doctor asked, Melinda's eyes stayed locked on Jim as he approached her slowly, "Mel.." he whispered, the doctor gave them a nod and left the room, "this....this was my fault" he sobbed, "I never meant....I wasn't...god, there's no excuse for what I said to you, I knew it was wrong even as it came out of my mouth, I should never have taken my anger out on you, Melinda....shit...Mel!"

Melinda was shaking violently, she pulled her feet up to her chest and shielded herself from him as if she expected to be hit, "Melinda, calm down, I swear I won't hurt you! Melinda, look, just like your first day, remember" Jim held his hands out to her palms up and she slowly lifted her face to meet his, "what happened to you baby? Oh God, what did they do to you?" he cried, Melinda jumped and screamed when Christopher walked through the door, "Mel, baby, it's just me..." Christopher comforted, Jim laid a hand beside Melinda's arm and her shaking slowed.

"Melinda, would you like me to leave?" Christopher asked, she nodded tearfully and Olivia sighed "I'll be back later honey" she rushed out to comfort her husband, "Mel, do you want me to go too?" Jim asked, Melinda ignored him completely and stared at her hands, "I'll drop by later and make sure you're okay honey" he whispered, "I miss you Melinda, god, I've missed you so much, call if you need help" Jim stood up to leave but Melinda reached out for him, her neatly manicured nails –courtesy of one of Holly's visits- caught Jim's hand and he spun back around, she gave a small shake of her head and Jim beamed back at her. "Melinda, I know I have no right to ask, but please..._please_ will you wear this?" he pulled a long silver chain over his head and Melinda sobbed when she saw that her ring was hanging from it, "I love you so much...and I'm praying that somewhere, some part of you still loves me too" Jim whispered, he held the chain out to her and let the tears fall down his cheeks. Melinda looked into his eyes and let her breathing even out, Jim would never hurt her, she bowed her head slowly and Jim slipped the chain around it.

"What happened that night Melinda? After I left..." Jim asked softly, Melinda closed her eyes and held his hand gently, "I...I came down the stairs and I was feeling bad- my head hurt and I was so dizzy...I..I was just going to take something for the headache, but you...I kept hearing your voice, remembering what you said...that if I wanted to die I could do it by myself...that the family could get over me and move on. I took too many pills, I just kept pushing and pushing until I couldn't do it anymore..." she trailed off and Jim rubbed circles on the back of her hand.

Christopher and Olivia were watching from outside "she's talking to him...how is it that she'll talk to him but not us?...it was his fault" Christopher growled, Olivia shook her head "she doesn't think that, she thinks it was _her_ fault...Jim is the first person that made her feel safe and loved after she left Lisa, he's different to her than everyone else" she said softly, Christopher nodded "I'm always gonna be on the outside" he turned away sadly and headed to the family room "on the outside looking in" Olivia whispered as she lifted her hand and touched the window with her finger tips, with one last glance at Melinda, she headed after Chris.

"Melinda, talk to me love" Jim whispered, "I went...I went down to the beach and watched the sunset, I was so tired, I couldn't keep my eyes open...and then....he was there" Melinda shuddered and Jim reached out slowly, "can I hold you?" he asked, Melinda clamped her eyes shut and shook her head "please don't" she whimpered, "okay, okay honey it's fine, don't panic baby" he comforted. "What happened next?" he asked, Melinda took in a deep breath "it was Joe...he grabbed me up and...he put his fingers in my mouth and he just kept on doing it over and over until I was sick...he said that he didn't want...he didn't want me to die yet and that I had to suffer...I can't Jim, I can't do this right now, please don't make me" she cried breaking down into quiet sobs and pulling away from him, Jim sighed "I'm sorry baby, I'm sorry, just relax, just calm down, you don't have to do anything you don't want to" he soothed, Melinda nodded and held onto the ring hanging from her chain.

xxxxxxxReview for love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx Lolly xxx


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

Sorry about the lack of updates in the past few days, I'm actually on holiday with some friends right now but we do have internet at the cabin so I brought my laptop with me. This is a longish chapter because I won't be able to update for a while now, we're going to stay out on a trail for another night then when we get back we'll be packing up and getting ready to fly back home *sighs* I really don't wanna leave, it's so pretty out here at this time of year...._anyhow...._LOL enjoy xx please review x hope you're having an awesome holiday xx

...................

_**LATER THAT DAY**_

"Chris, please calm down!" Olivia pleaded, "just go Livvy, I can't do this right now! I'm going home, I should check on the kids today anyway, I'll be back tomorrow and I'll bring them with me, but I can't be near him, I can't sit and pretend that I'm okay with it, why should I be on the sidelines watching him, when it was him that made this all happen in the first place?! He made her want to _die_ Olivia, she tried to KILL herself because of what _he_ did, I thought she was gone Livvy, I thought that we had lost her, I can't tell you how it felt to hold her the night I found her, I thought that she would die in my arms, I thought I was going to watch her take her last breath. I was covered in her blood and watching her fight to keep her heart beating. Then there was Jim, he did this to her, to our little girl, and he got away with it...if she had died...God knows I would have never forgiven him, I _don't_. I can't" he continued furiously throwing his washing into a huge duffel bag as Olivia tried to stop him "Christopher Liam Jenner! You CANNOT leave me here alone, our daughter has just woken up, she's scared and hurt and so am I! I need you to be here baby, I need you to help us through this!" she cried, Christopher stilled and sank to the bed, Olivia pulled him into her small arms instantly and he cried on her shoulder, "come with me, please, let's try to talk to her" Olivia suggested.

"Olivia, to her I'm just another man, another predator...she's afraid of me, _god_, my own daughter lives in _fear_ that I might hurt her. She looks at me like she's just waiting in terror for the day that I'll snap and take a swing at her, the day that I creep into her room at night and take adva..." he trailed off unable to speak anymore and Olivia kissed his forehead "sweetheart, Melinda loves you, but she's been hurt...she's in so much pain right now and she's confused, you just have to be _so_ gentle with her and eventually she'll see that you're different, it's not your fault baby, you haven't done anything wrong, she just needs help to relate to you again honey" Olivia held him tightly and pulled him towards the door.

...........

"Melinda, honey, Christopher would really love to see you, would that be alright?" Olivia asked, she had been talking to her for a while as Christopher waited patiently outside, Melinda sobbed "I didn't mean to make him angry...I'm sorry" she said quietly, Olivia smiled sadly "Melinda, Christopher is not angry with you, he's very happy that you're okay but he's worried about you, he'd love for you to talk to him...to let him know that you're alright...do you think you could do that baby?" she asked hopefully, "he'll hit" Melinda accused, Jim shook his head "Chris would never hit you sweety, never" he soothed, Olivia watched her carefully for a moment before opening the door wider and letting Christopher in, he walked towards her slowly with his hands up to show he wasn't a threat, "I'll be downstairs babe" Jim said before kissing her head and leaving with a nod, Christopher took his place beside her and smiled "Melinda, I...I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to scare you honey, please don't be afraid of me love, I would never hurt you" he said softly, Melinda glanced uncertainly at Olivia who nodded, Melinda lifted a shaky hand and Christopher went to hold it but she flinched back, he dropped his own hand and closed his eyes with a small nod of encouragement, Melinda reached forward and touched his closed eyelids, "do you think it would be okay if I left you guys alone?" Olivia asked, Melinda nodded distantly and Olivia shot Christopher a triumphant smile, "I'll be back real soon, promise".

Melinda held the palm of her hand against Christopher's cheek "Melinda...I should have been there to protect you, it's tortured me every night...knowing that I wasn't there when I should have been, we came back that night, Liv and I, after you were sick in the music room. I went back to Olivia and told her what happened, the kids promised they'd be okay so we decided that we'd come back and spend the night with you in case you needed help again." Melinda pulled her hand away from his face and pushed herself as far away as she could, Christopher looked up in shock but she smiled, Melinda patted the huge empty space in the bed next to her and Christopher's face lit up "are you sure?" he asked, Melinda nodded and Christopher climbed into the bed beside her, he pulled the covers up to Melinda's chest and opened his arms, Melinda hesitated before slowly moving closer and laying her head on his chest, "my dad" she whispered, Christopher's chest was shaken with heart-breaking sobs and he held onto her as tightly as he could without crushing her, images of the last time he held her that way were flashing behind his eyes, seeing those hazel eyes unable to open, her porcelain skin covered in crimson blood, her gentle hands bound together...Chris shook his head gently and kissed the top of her head.

"I got through the door and saw the note...I thought I might just die on the spot, my heart stopped beating and my breath caught in my throat, I was so afraid for you, I ran up to your room and you weren't there...Melinda, why didn't you talk to us? Why did you do it?" he cried softly, Melinda held onto his shirt "I couldn't...I tried, but I just couldn't tell anyone how I was feeling, I can't deal...I just can't. I've thought about it before...ending it, but I had a reason _not_ to, I had you guys...when Jim...after we argued, I felt like I had lost you, so I felt ready to let go...I don't know how to...stop thinking about it. Every time I close my eyes I see them, I feel them...but...I can't remember...I just _feel_ things, I can't see it...I remember taking the pills and going down to the water, I remember him grabbing me, I remember how the sand felt under my knees when he pushed me down, he made me sick. I can remember running through the trees, but after that...nothing" she whispered, Christopher rubbed her arm gently "are you saying that you don't remember what happened to you at all?" he asked, Melinda shook her head "I just remember waking up" she replied.

Christopher reached over and pressed the red call button "honey, I need you to tell the doctor exactly what you just told me okay?" he sat up and pulled Melinda with him so that she was on his lap. The doctor rushed in quickly "what happened, Melinda, are you alright?" she panicked, "I can't remember" Melinda whispered, "she can't remember anything after she was taken, she remembers up until they were running, I guess back to the van, but nothing after that, is that normal?" he asked, Melinda jumped as the doctor touched her hair, "let me look at you sweetheart" she said softly as she shone a light into Melinda's eyes. "I'm gonna order a CT scan, we'll take her over as soon as we get a free slot" the doctor ran from the room and Melinda threw a panicked look at Christopher "I did something wrong...I..I'm sorry" she sobbed, Christopher wrapped his arms around her and she jumped in fear "sweetheart, calm down, you haven't done anything wrong at all, no one is mad...ssshhhh, relax baby" he soothed, Melinda took a deep breath and lay back down with him.

"I love you sweetheart" Christopher whispered, he ruffled Melinda's hair lightly and she smiled "love you too" she replied, "I'm tired" she yawned, Christopher nodded and went to get up "I'll come bac-" "stay" Melinda whispered. "Of course honey, I'd be happy to" Christopher replied, he shuffled down and redid Melinda's covers so she was wrapped up warm, "sleep baby girl" he kissed her head and she relaxed against him.

"Oh Chris, I'm so happy" Olivia cooed as she came into the room an hour later, Melinda was still fast asleep in his arms and he was tracing patterns on her arm gently. "She has some kind of amnesia?...I talked to the doctor, they said they should be able to take her over in about half an hour" Olivia told him, Christopher nodded "she said...he made her sick, he forced his fingers down her throat until she..." he sighed and breathed in the scent of her hair, "she'll be okay, we just have to love her and be there for her...she'll get better" Olivia soothed gently, Melinda turned over in her sleep and draped her arm over Christopher's stomach "don't leave me...he's coming...please don't leave me here, he wants to hurt me...he's hurting me _now_" she mumbled. Christopher's head snapped up and he threw a pained look at Olivia who had a hand pressed to her mouth to hold in the shock "he..he killed mommy and daddy...he wants to kill _me_, Jim said...that's what I should do...but I..."

Melinda woke with a start and looked around in fear "I didn't do it because of Jim" she whispered sleepily, Christopher rubbed her back in comfort and she lay back down "what honey?" he asked, Melinda took a deep breath "I..I didn't do it because of what Jim said, you blame him...but it wasn't his fault. I probably would have done it anyway. You asked me why I didn't tell you how I was feeling...I said I didn't know, that's not true...I was afraid that if you knew how much I hated myself...you would think you were doing something wrong, I didn't want you to be sad...I knew that me being sick was hurting you, so I tried to make it seem like.." Melinda was crying hysterically as Christopher held her tightly "..I tried to make it seem like I was getting better, I wanted you to go back to normal, to the way you were before I came here, I messed up your family and I'm sorry...I'm sorry" she sobbed.

Olivia jumped up and climbed into the huge bed on Melinda's other side "baby girl, you did NOT ruin this family, if anything...you brought it together. Jim was so distant from everyone, he didn't eat dinner with us, he wouldn't come on family trips, he refused to talk to anyone...then you came, ever since you've been here Jim's been a part of our family, we've gained a daughter _and _a son" Olivia said softly, Melinda looked at her with tears in her eyes, "and I gained a mom and a dad" she whispered. Olivia smiled "Mel, you have to talk to us, let us know how you're feeling, let us know what's going on in here" she touched Melinda's chest lightly above her heart "I'm scared...I'm scared to remember" Melinda said quietly, just then the doctor rushed in "hey sweety, we're going to take you over for the CT scan, it will only take about 10 minutes and then you can come back and get some rest"

"You'll be fine baby girl" Christopher said before kissing her head, he and Olivia climbed off the bed and Melinda was wheeled out, "Mel, I love you" came Jim's soft voice as they left the room, he had been waiting in a chair outside her room "wait!" Melinda yelled, the attendants stopped pushing the bed and Melinda sat up "Jim" she called, he ran towards her and she wrapped her arms around him "Jim...I..I love you too" she said softly, "we have to go honey, you'll be back soon" a nurse said, Jim beamed at her "love you more" he said happily as she disappeared behind a set of double doors.

**20 minutes later...**

"Mel!" Jim yelled as she was wheeled back, Melinda sighed "it's my fault" she said softly, Jim noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks and rushed into her room behind her as she was wheeled in. Christopher and Olivia jumped up as the attendants left. "What's the matter honey? There's nothing to be afraid of" Olivia soothed, Melinda shook her head "it's my fault I don't remember, the doctor said there's nothing wrong with me...so it must be me....I must be doing something wrong, I'm sorry...I'll try harder I swear" she cried, Jim threw a panicked look at Christopher who looked just as frightened at her hysteria, "Mel, you're not doing anything wrong babe, you'll remember when you're ready, just relax" Jim said softly, Melinda pulled her IV out of her arm "I wanna go home" she said quietly, Christopher ran towards her wide eyed and grabbed her arm as blood poured from the crease in her elbow, "Mel, sweetheart, what are you doing?!" he asked, Melinda climbed out of the bed and stood on tired legs, "Mel, get back in the bed" Jim warned gently, she shook her head wildly as hot tears streamed down her cheeks "I'm seventeen years old...I can discharge myself, right?"she asked, "no Melinda, you need to be in here right now" Olivia said, Melinda pulled her arm from Christopher's grasp and rubbed at it "I want to go _home_" she insisted, "no! Lay down Melinda!" Christopher boomed so loud that even Olivia flinched, Melinda stared up at him wide eyed as she trembled in shock and fear.

Christopher clamped a hand over his mouth and shook his head "Melinda, I'm so sorry...I..I didn't mean, I wasn't trying to scare you...I just..." he stuttered, Melinda clamped her eyes shut

-_**"MELINDA, LAY DOWN!!" David's voice shook her and she screamed as her back hit the wall, he towered over her and pushed her shoulders down until she crumpled to the floor in a trembling ball, "I'm sorry" she whimpered as he crouched down beside her, his rough hand balled into a fist and flew into her stomach "I said NO FUCKING TALKING!" he yelled, Melinda whimpered as his fingers wrapped around her throat and he slammed her head against the concrete, Melinda screamed as loud as she could and scratched his arm with her long nails "YOU BITCH!" he growled, Melinda screamed as his long knife glinted in the light, "NO!" she screamed, he kneeled on her chest as he pressed the tip of the blade against her neck, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't do it" she begged, it was too late, David dragged the blade across lightly pressing only far enough to break the skin, Melinda bit her lip as she sobbed and he threw the knife across the room before slamming his fist into her jaw "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" he yelled before hitting her face with the back of his hand. "David, pass her over" Joe growled, David grabbed her neck once more and lifted her, he dragged her over to Joe and dropped her on the floor carelessly "I'm going for a drink, I'll be back later" he huffed, Melinda shivered as Joe pulled her onto his lap "I hated jail, it's your fault I was in there, it's your fault I had to go through all that shit...I'm gonna make you pay"-**_

Melinda stumbled back from Christopher and Jim with fearful eyes, her hand flew up to her neck and she traced the invisible scar, Christopher was sobbing uncontrollably "Mel...baby, please talk to me...I'm sorry, so sorry" he cried-_no talking.. "NO FUCKING TALKING"-_ the voice echoed through Melinda's head and she kept her mouth firmly shut. "Melinda, are you okay baby?" Jim asked, he walked towards her but she stepped back again in fright, "it's okay honey, I won't hurt you" he said gently, Melinda backed all the way out the door and they stayed put as she turned and fled down the hall, she ran to the desk and pulled a set of forms from a tray labelled 'patient: self discharge' she took a pen and filled them out as quickly as she could, "Mel, baby don't do this, you need to be in here" Jim pleaded, keeping a safe distance, Melinda handed the papers in as soon as she was finished and the woman behind the desk frowned "you know, we really do recommend that you stay in for at least a few more days" she said, Melinda matched her frown and pushed the papers further towards her "fine, I'll have your prescriptions ready to pick up as soon as you're ready to go" she said reluctantly, Jim ran back into the room and pulled Olivia and Christopher to the back so they would be out of her way "she discharged herself, there's no way we can stop her now" Jim said.

Melinda rushed back into the room, grabbed her bag and ran into the bathroom to change. She pulled on a loose black v-neck sweater over some pink ripped skinny jeans and black ballet flats, she kept the door open so she could make sure that no one was coming any closer. "Melinda...?" the doctor asked as she walked into the room, Melinda threw her pyjamas into the bag and walked out "I heard about what you did, are you sure you can't stay just a little while longer? I haven't had a chance to really discuss the results of your scan with your parents" she asked softly, Melinda shook her head vehemently "okay sweetheart, well, I have to ask that you come back here in a week for a progress check, that will be next Thursday at 5:00pm" she handed Melinda a little slip with the details on it before walking out, Melinda shoved it in her pocket, grabbed her bag and made a move to get out but Jim stood in front of her and she shrank back.

"Shhh, I'm not going to hurt you baby, just slide your bag off your shoulder and I'll carry it for you, okay?" he offered, she shook her head and stumbled backwards to get further away from him. Melinda realised she was stuck...she could either go in a car full of people or go it alone with a stranger in a taxi cab, she shuddered at the thought and threw a pleading look at Olivia. "We'll go in my car baby, Christopher and Jim....you're going to have to put your differences aside and ride together for now" she said with a slightly warning tone, the two men glared at each other unwillingly before Jim turned away and looked at Melinda, "Mel, I'll see you at home, I love you" he said softly, Melinda wouldn't meet his gaze but winced slightly at the last part, "get out Jim, you're scaring her" Christopher chided, Jim threw him one last glare before storming out, "goodbye sweetheart, I love you" Christopher got the same terrified reception as Jim and so walked out defeated.

"Melinda, sit down" Olivia commanded, Melinda looked at her in confusion and she nodded encouragingly before sitting on the bed herself, Melinda did as she was told and waited expectantly for whatever Olivia wanted. "Can you tell me what you saw, when Christopher yelled at you, I know you had a flashback....it might help if you talk about it, it might help all of us understand" she said gently, Melinda's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head, "okay honey, I understand, but if you won't talk, at least listen. When we get home you're going to feel weak and tired because you should still be here in bed, I'm not going to leave your medication in your room, after what you did...I just can't take that risk, but someone is going to have to give you the medicine Melinda, do you agree that it would be best if I did it for now?" she asked softly.

Melinda nodded slowly, she couldn't stand the thought of Christopher injecting her...she clamped her eyes shut against the tears and sighed, "okay, everyone is sure to fuss over you when we get home, would you like me to ask them to stay away while we get you settled back in?", Melinda nodded again and smiled slightly at her kindness "last thing, are you going to eat on your own or do we need to have the feeding tube fitted?" she asked gently, it wasn't a threat at all, she just needed an answer, Melinda's eyes widened and she shook her head fearfully "so you'll eat properly then?" Olivia asked, Melinda bit her lip and nodded again "okay, let's get you home".

Xxxxxxxx Review PLEASE xx I'll update again when I get home xxxxxxxxxX


	41. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

I know I've done this a lot but I really just wanted to take the time to say thank you SO much to everyone who reviews, it means the world to me that you would take the time to say such nice things and it really inspires me to keep writing xx Much love yall xx Lolly xx

It took just less than half an hour for them to be sitting in the garage of the Jenner house, Melinda could see Jim standing out on his balcony waiting anxiously, behind him the lights of his bedroom glowed in the twilight, Melinda climbed out of the car with her bag and followed Olivia, the journey had been awkward, silent on Melinda's part but nervous rantings spewed from Olivia's mouth in an attempt to encourage some kind of communication. The front door was opened for Melinda before she reached it and she eyed Christopher's large form warily "welcome home baby girl" he said softly, she shivered at the sound of his voice and rushed past him to the stairs, it was so long since she had been back home, over a month ago when she had slept in Jim's arms the night before they left for the camping trip. Melinda kept her gaze fixed on the floor as she hurried up to her room ignoring the watchful eyes of everyone sitting quietly in the lounge, they had obviously been told to leave her be for now.

She sighed as she stepped through the door, which had been painted a sparkly purple by someone with her name was written in italic script vertically down the middle, and breathed in the familiar scent of her room, she heard steps behind her and quickly shut and locked the door "Mel...it's...it's Jim...I just wanted...I need to...uh, I'll come back later" he stammered, Melinda felt tears well up in her hazel eyes and she touched the door gently before unpacking her clothes and putting them in her wash basket, she walked into her closet and jumped as she caught the movement of her reflection in the corner of her eye, she studied herself in the mirror and gasped, she was rail thin, her clothes hung from her bony frame limply and made her look so fragile that she feared she might break if she made a wrong move. Her hair had grown a few inches and hung all the way down her back so that the ends tickled her elbows, it fell tiredly around her face emphasizing her sunken cheeks and shadowed eyes. She turned away from herself and ran her hand over the rails of clothes she knew would probably be too big for her and picked out a thin purple tank top, a long sleeved black t-shirt to go underneath and a pair of black 'so-low' long yoga pants with a purple fold-over waistband. She pulled some underwear from a draw and laid them all on the large armchair next to the mirror, her closet truly was big enough to be a bedroom.

Ignoring a light knock on the door, Melinda grabbed a huge blue towel and headed into her bathroom to shower, she took her clothes off gingerly as her tired body ached, her bruises were all gone but she could see new scars on her pale skin, although they wear just thin pearly lines-she knew the story behind them, and that was what made her avert her eyes in fear, after laying in a bed for so long her muscles were stiff and she knew that a long hot soak would do her good. Melinda filled up the tub with hot water and bubbles and climbed in slowly, she sighed and relaxed back into the water letting herself calm down a little, after a while she was startled by knocking at her door "Melinda! It's Olivia...please honey, open the door...are you okay?!" she asked worriedly, Melinda pulled her knees up to her chest "Melinda, I'm coming in...I have to know that you're okay, I promise I'm alone" she reassured, Melinda heard the lock turn and Olivia's soft footsteps, "are you in the shower honey?" she asked, Melinda shook her head even though she knew Olivia couldn't see her. "Sweetheart, I'm going to come in if you won't talk to me, I need to see that you're alright" she said softly, the door opened slowly and Olivia stepped in and shut it behind her, she let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Melinda "you're okay" she said softly. Melinda looked up at her and she smiled "do you need help with anything?" she asked.

Melinda debated in her mind before nodding slightly, "it's just the two of us baby, you can talk to me" Olivia soothed, Melinda nodded "bottom drawer on the left...please" she said looking towards her closet, Olivia rushed away and returned with a deep red bikini, "here you are honey, I'll turn around" Olivia offered, Melinda pulled the bathing suit on as Olivia waited patiently, "I'm done" she whispered, Olivia turned around and kneeled beside her "can I wash your hair?" she asked gently, Melinda nodded and shuffled forward.

A few minutes later Olivia was washing the fruity conditioner out of Melinda's hair "how are you _really _feeling honey?" she asked, Melinda sighed "tired, afraid...losing my memory is like...I feel like I'm on the outside of some really big secret...except I'm not sure I wanna know what the secret is. I saw something earlier...David was screaming at me and his hand...it was wrapped around my throat and...I couldn't breathe, I was so scared Livvy, I was afraid that I would..." she trailed off and shook her head, "you don't have to be afraid anymore baby" she whispered, Melinda nodded and picked up her shower gel. Olivia smiled at her and gave her a gentle kiss on the head "I'll leave you alone for a while, I'll wait in your bedroom and help you get ready for bed, just call me if you need help honey" she left Melinda and went to sit on her bed, she picked up a photograph of Melinda's parents and sighed "I hope that you think we're taking good care of her...and I hope you're watching over our girl" she said softly with tears in her eyes.

Melinda shaved and exfoliated until she felt like she had removed all traces of the hospital from her skin, she climbed out of the tub and wrapped one towel around her body and the other tied into her hair. She thought about everything Olivia was doing and smiled to herself "Liv?" she called as she padded into the bedroom, Olivia came in from the balcony where she had been gazing out at the stars "you need help?" she asked, Melinda shook her head "no I just..I..I...love you" she said gently, Olivia held a hand to her chest "I love you too sweetheart, so much" she whispered, she held her arms open and Melinda walked into them slowly "I'm sorry that I don't say it more...I'm sorry that I don't say _everything_ more, not talking is just easier...I just-" she said softly, Olivia pulled her back and kissed her forehead "you have nothing to apologise for baby girl, come on, let's get you dressed" she said.

Melinda followed her into the closet and pulled on her underwear before Olivia helped her pull on her clothes "you've lost weight" Olivia whispered more to herself than to anyone else, Melinda nodded "I guess an IV isn't exactly a balanced diet" she joked, Olivia chuckled "guess not, would you like some hot cocoa?" she asked, Melinda nodded "yes please" she said softly, "Liv...would you stay here tonight...with me?" she asked, Olivia smiled "I'll tell you what, why don't you blow dry that hair of yours while I go take a quick shower, then I'll make up some hot cocoa with marshmallows on top and we can snuggle down, sound okay?" she asked hopefully, Melinda nodded and a smile spread across her face lighting it up completely, Olivia sighed happily at the sight of it and kissed Melinda's cheek.

"I think it's probably best if everyone else gives you a little space for now, maybe tomorrow you can say hi to them, anyway...you just think about _you_ for now honey, I'll be back real soon" with that she bounced out of the room happily leaving Melinda behind.

Melinda sat on the floor of her closet by the mirror with her blow dryer and dried her hair into soft waves falling bouncily around her face which now had a healthy glow to it and a rosy blush crossed her cheeks. She moisturised her skin and put a little lip gloss on before heading out onto her balcony, through Jim's dark window she could just about see him laying on his stomach facing away from her, she knocked on the door gently and he turned around, Melinda could see he had been crying and he quickly wiped at his cheeks, "Mel?" he rushed over to her and opened the door "are you okay? Do you need help? Wow, you look much better, how are you feeling?" he asked, Melinda nodded slightly and took a surprised step back "sorry" Jim murmured but Melinda shook her head to let him know that it wasn't his fault, he stepped back into is room and motioned for Melinda to come in, she eyed the dark room warily and Jim followed her gaze to try to figure out the problem, "oh! The lights...you want the light on?" he asked, Melinda nodded and bit her lip looking apologetic but Jim didn't mind.

"Here, come sit down" he offered once the bright lights had illuminated the familiar room, Melinda stepped in and Jim moved to shut the door but she shook her head in slight panic not wanting to feel trapped, she sat cautiously on the end of his bed and flinched slightly when he walked towards her, "sorry" he said softly. Jim knew he needed to make himself seem like less of a threat so he lay down beside her and she nodded "you've lost a lot of weight" he commented with a frown as he looked at her, Melinda nodded again and looked down at herself self-consciously, "you look better after your bath, a little more colour in your cheeks...your hair looks pretty...I guess it grew while you were...asleep, I like it" he was trying so hard that Melinda couldn't help but smile-even if it was only internal, she turned around to face him and pulled the chain that he had given her over her head, she let the ring slide off it and held it out to him, Jim took it confusedly and she smiled, Melinda held her hand out palm down and Jim smiled, "I'll always love you baby, never doubt that" he whispered before sliding the ring onto her finger, before he could drop his hand Melinda laced her fingers with his.

She held both of their hands to her heart and bit her lip "is Liv gonna stay with you?" Jim asked, Melinda nodded and glanced towards the door knowing that she should probably leave soon "will you come see me in the morning?" he asked hopefully, Melinda nodded and let go of his hand as he sat up slowly, Jim leaned forward and kissed her head gently then smiled "sleep well love" he whispered as she left. Melinda threw one last glance at him before shutting his door and padding across the balcony to her own room. Just as she slid the door shut there was a soft knock at her door and Olivia came in "you okay?" she asked, Melinda nodded and smiled "m'okay" she whispered, she closed her curtains and sat down on her bed where Olivia was. "Here you go" Olivia said as she handed her a huge mug of hot cocoa with foam and marshmallows on the top, "thank you" Melinda said politely, Olivia was dressed in a dark blue tank top and shorts with a fluffy purple robe over the top "I went to see Jim" Melinda said softly, Olivia smiled "I'll bet he was glad to see you" she said, Melinda nodded "Christopher hates him...because of me" she said sadly.

Olivia shook her head "he could never hate him honey, but Christopher's having a very hard time forgiving him for what he's done, it's not your fault honey, what Jim did was inexcusable and nobody's fault but his own, Chris will come around, as long as you're okay...everyone else will be too" she said softly, "I'm sorry I can't make myself okay faster" she whispered, Olivia shook her head "that's not what I mean baby, no one's expecting you to be all smiles, but just to know that you're safe and back with the family...everyone can breathe a little sigh of relief, we were all so afraid for you...it was so hard seeing you laying there and knowing that nothing we did could help, we're all just glad that we didn't lose you, it was very hard for us to consider the possibility that...that you might not make it. Christopher is very tense, he just needs to know that you're here, he still feels like he's lost you honey, it's so hard for him to know that you're afraid of him when he really only wants the best for you, he would never hurt you, you know that don't you?" she asked gently, Melinda nodded "I love him so much...I just...he looks like him and...and when he yells...I just...I'm sorry" she stammered, Olivia laid a hand gently on Melinda's arm "you haven't done anything wrong baby, we understand how hard it is, as you remember more...it gets worse, but just know that everyone is here for you...we all want to help you feel like yourself again" she soothed, Melinda pushed herself back so that she was leaning against the headboard next to Olivia and sipped on her cocoa.

They finished their cocoa and Olivia reached over to turn out the lights but Melinda shook her head fearfully, "please don't" she whispered, Olivia nodded in surprise and just turned the lights down to a dim glow, "is that alright?" she asked, Melinda nodded and lay back "goodnight Olivia" she murmured as sleep crept up on her, she wouldn't be awake much longer. "Good night baby" Olivia replied, she gave her a small kiss on the cheek and found her hand under the covers, Melinda let her lace their fingers together and lay her head on Olivia's chest "love you" Olivia whispered "I love you too" Melinda replied softly as her eyes fell closed.

Xx Please leave a review if you liked it xX

Be safe if you're gonna go trick or treating and have an AWESOMEEEE halloweeeeeeeen MUHAHAHAHAHAHA xx Lolly xx


	42. Chapter 42

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

_**-**__**as Melinda sobbed violently she looked up to see a dark warehouse, most of the windows were missing and the gray concrete was littered and covered in graffiti, the sky was dark, rain poured heavily as lightning streaked through black clouds and thunder rumbled loudly. Her bare feet hit the wet ground and cold rain splashed her legs, "take her in, I'm gonna park around back so we can't be seen from the road" Joe said as he pulled the car door shut, David nodded and pulled Melinda by the elbow, she stumbled behind him and screamed when he spun around to her "learn to walk" he growled-**_

Melinda tossed from left to right as the memory haunted her, Olivia woke with a start as she heard Melinda's frightened whimper "are you alright?" she asked softly, Melinda didn't answer and Olivia realised she was still asleep, she held onto Melinda tighter and rubbed comforting circles on her back until she calmed down.

_**-she fell on the last step and landed hard on her front unable to use her hands as a shield, she cried out in pain as her knees, chest and chin scraped the rough floor. "GET UP!" David yelled, Melinda scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could and followed quietly- **_

Melinda woke with a start, she glanced around her room and sighed "I'm okay..I'm safe now..it's okay" she told herself though her shaky voice was unconvincing, she breathed in the soft scent of Olivia's hair and tried to force herself to relax, "no more nightmares" she promised herself...but that wasn't enough to stop them.

_**-Melinda winced as she tried to push herself from the ground, she had been left alone but tied up, her wrists and bound together with cable ties around a thick pipe which ran from ceiling to floor, there was no way she could escape. A scratchy cough rattled her chest and blood splattered from her mouth, Melinda's eyes widened in fear and she wiped her mouth on her shoulder shuddering as she saw the blood smeared across her skin, just then she heard heavy footsteps coming towards her and tears began falling quickly down her cheeks as she shook with fear-**_

Melinda woke with a start and shuddered, she could feel Olivia's arms around her and threw them off in a panic which made her jolt awake "Mel?" she asked sleepily, Melinda jumped out of the bed and cowered in the corner by the balcony door, the heavy purple curtains brushed her back and she trembled "Melinda, baby what's wrong?" Olivia asked, she approached Melinda slowly but she pushed herself roughly against the glass door, images of David's face flashed behind her eyes and she screamed loudly "Mel...Melinda please calm down...you're safe now!" Olivia panicked, but Melinda was too far gone to be soothed by her.

She watched unwillingly as the memories flooded back to her, being taken, being beaten, being raped....she clamped her eyes shut and held her head as the brutal attacks carved themselves into her mind, a permanent fixture. "Melinda? Livvy...what the hell?" Jim's tired and confused voice came, Melinda stayed balled in the corner as the rest of the family all rushed in one after the other "we heard a scream" "is she okay?" "what happened?" "is she hurt?" "what's going on?"....they were all concerned and frightened by Melinda's behaviour and everyone tried to rush forward to help but Olivia threw her arms out to keep them back "get out!" she yelled as Melinda began rocking herself quickly. Everyone reluctantly left the two of them alone and went to wait anxiously in Jim's bedroom, Olivia got to her knees on the floor and crawled slowly towards Melinda "baby? Can you hear me?" she asked gently, Melinda continued rocking as her mind showed her everything she had been through, mercilessly pinning her down and forcing her to bear witness to every excruciating detail of her attack.

It was all going too fast for Melinda to be able to separate the days and hours from each other, the brutal onslaught blurred into one and she dreaded the day when she would be able to remember each minute separately. "Melinda...please talk to me" Olivia sobbed, she reached out and laid a hand on Melinda's arm but as soon as their skin touched Melinda screamed and pulled away as if she had been burned, she scrambled to her feet and bolted for the door "CHRIS!" Olivia screamed, before Melinda reached the door it was thrown open ahead of her and Mitch appeared in the doorway, Melinda kept running forward and dodged to the side of him, before she had a chance to get past him Christopher came forward and she stopped short-frozen in fear. Then Jim appeared behind them and she threw him a pleading look "will you let me?" he asked in reply to her silent request for help, Melinda nodded tearfully and glanced down at her ring..._Jim is different_ she reminded herself "are you sure Mel?" he asked as he eyed her trembling form, she looked up and let her eyes meet his before she nodded again, Jim pushed past Christopher and Mitch and wrapped his arms around Melinda "sssh" he soothed, Melinda still trembled against him as he lifted her easily off her feet "you guys should go" he told everyone "no, I'm not leaving her with you" Christopher insisted and Melinda flinched at his harsh tone, Jim lifted her so that her legs sat around his waist and she tucked her head as far into his neck as she could. "Chris, you're scaring her..._please_" he pleaded, Christopher's face softened at the fear and love in Jim's voice and he nodded "take care of her" he murmured before leaving "Mel?" Olivia's small and tearful voice came "I'll look after her Olivia" Jim said softly, she nodded and left quietly as Melinda sobbed into Jim's chest.

"Melinda, what happened?" Jim asked gently as he set her down on the bed and kneeled in front of her "I want to _die_" Melinda whispered to him letting her eyes meet his in an unwavering stare, Jim shook his head "don't say that Melinda, you can't say that" he said with a shake of his head, he tried to kiss her but she flinched away from him "Melinda I lov-"

"I rem..remember... everything" Melinda cut him off without meeting his gaze. Jim nodded "I'm sor-" "don't" she said with a frown, Jim dropped his head and nodded "I understand" he said walking towards the door. Melinda's beautiful face contorted in rage and she pointed her finger at his retreating form "don't you dare walk aw..away from me James Clancy!" she screamed, he jumped at the surprising volume of Melinda's tired voice, Jim stopped dead in his tracks and made no move to hide his tears as he turned to face Melinda.

"You can't leave, nn..not again" she cried, "what did I..do to m..make you hate me s..so much?" she sobbed, Jim shook his head and sat back down beside her "I could never hate you Mel, never. I realised I was in love..and you had the power to take that away from me...and it scared me, when I saw how ill you were getting...I was worried about you. You were so weak and...you, you weren't even trying. I got angry and I said things that were so wrong it's unreal, I don't even deserve to speak to you, I don't deser-"

"Do you know what it's like to remember? To remember being beaten until you begged to be killed...to remember being violated- over and over, being torn apart inside and out!? I can't take the memories Jim, I can hear their voices screaming, yelling at me for things I didn't do, it wasn't my fault! I can still feel his fingers wrapped around my neck, every night I lived through it...I see it now over and over, as soon as I close my eyes they're there...please, help me make it stop" she asked desperately, Jim's eyes spilled over "Mel...I can't, I'm so sorry baby but there's no way I can stop you from thinking about it, all I can do is be here for you...all I can do is love you" he said gently, Melinda's face crumpled and she burst into tears. "Let me hold you" Jim offered, Melinda shook her head "I...I think I need to be alone Jim...I'm sorry..I just need to think....you should go back to sleep", "do you promise to call me if you need help?" he asked seriously, Melinda nodded "I love you so much Jim, I just need to figure this out alone".

Jim nodded "I understand Melinda, and I love you too" he kissed her hand gently and stroked the ring on her finger "never forget baby" he whispered, she nodded and Jim left quietly, Melinda turned her lights up as bright as they could go and lay back on the bed.

"What did she say?" Olivia asked as soon as Jim stepped through his door "she wants to be alone right now, she said there are things that she needs to figure out...she got her memories back...but I don't think she liked what she saw, she lived through it all again, she asked me to help her make it stop...I don't know what to do for her...she said that as soon as she closes her eyes she sees them....what do we do?" he asked worriedly, Christopher shook his head with tears in his eyes "she remembers...everything, God...she must be in so much pain right now, I wish she would let us help her...I can't stand not being able to do anything!" he cried in frustration, Holly shivered and Mitch wrapped his arms around her shoulders "sssh, she's gonna be okay babe" he comforted, Alexis sighed "do you think she remembers...you know...the stuff they did to her?" she asked fearfully and wide-eyed, "I think she rememberseverything" Jim said worriedly.

Olivia covered her mouth as she cried silently and Christopher pulled her into his arms, "this is what _you_ did to her...I hope she never forgives you!" Alexis yelled at Jim, her long and perfectly straight blond hair fanned around her face as she turned to storm out of the room, "I...Lex, I didn't mean for this to...I just..." he struggled to find the right word as she turned to glare at him just when she reached the door, "I hate you" she growled "ENOUGH!" Olivia's voice, gravelly from tiredness and tears, reverberated off of the walls and everyone looked at her in shock "Melinda is suffering enough for a million people and we need a goddamned family to help her get through this! If you insist on creating a divide between yourselves and making everybody else miserable and uncomfortable then you can GET OUT! I want everyone to pack a back and meet me downstairs in an hour, you're going to go and stay at aunt Lily's house for a couple of days, I can't have you behaving like this when I have to think about Melinda's safety" she yelled, everyone stared at her in shocked silence "now!" she barked and everyone except for Jim rushed out of the room "you can't make me leave" he said, she shook her head "I'm not asking you to Jim, I think she needs you more than anyone else right now, do you think you could look after her for the night while I go and get everyone settled in?" she asked, he nodded "I'll keep her safe" he said sincerely, Christopher nodded "I'll go and pack our stuff Liv, will you come back here in the morning?" he asked, she nodded "I'll drive you there and come back in the morning, I don't want any of the kids to have their cars with them, will you be alright for a couple of days?" she asked, "I think I can handle your psychotic sister for 48hours" he said with a smile, Olivia's older sister Lily lived an hour away and was always willing to help if they needed it "I'll go call her now" Olivia said.

Melinda pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her weak arms around them as she cried

_**-Melinda **__**shivered and went to pull her cardigan tighter around herself but she wasn't wearing it, she was wearing nothing but her underwear, "wakey wakey baby, thanks for the ride, that was awesome" Joe growled as he pulled his trousers up-**_

"Mel?" it was Jim's soft voice as he stepped into her room "I'm not going to hurt you Melinda, just relax and listen to me baby" he soothed, Melinda tried to shove her memories to the back of her head and focus on what Jim was saying to her "Chris an Liv are taking everyone to stay at Livvy's sisters house...do you remember me telling you about Lily?" he asked, Melinda didn't respond so he continued "they're leaving pretty soon, that means that I'll be here with you alone for a while, is that alright with you?" he asked Melinda, she held onto her knees a little tighter and nodded "okay, Olivia will say goodbye to you before they leave, and I'll come check on you, everything's gonna be fine sweetheart, Olivia will be back tomorrow...do you need me to get you anything right now?" he asked, Melinda shook her head and he smiled "alright honey, I'll be back soon, love you" he left Melinda alone and she closed her eyes as the memories resumed their assault.-_You need to make it safe- _she sprang from the bed and shut her door before locking it and breathing a sigh of relief as the panic died down_-it's not safe Melinda, it's never safe-_her own mind taunted, she unlocked the door and locked it again quickly with a feverish shiver –_one more time Melinda, you have to be sure-_ she told herself, Melinda gave in to the urge and relocked the door one more time before stepping back from it.

She thought about what she had remembered...their hands all over her, their mouths, their tongues- Melinda gagged and ran to the bathroom, she leaned over the toilet bowl and brought up the hot cocoa she had earlier –_you're not clean Melinda....you'll never be clean again-_she whimpered and pulled her clothes off as quickly as she could, Melinda stood naked in front of the tall bathroom mirror and winced, the scar under her left breast burned with the empty memories and she wondered how it had happened, she had been told that it was a stab wound but couldn't remember how it had happened. She took a deep breath and turned around, her eyes widened and a gasp escaped her throat, three pearl white lines slashed across the side of her ribs as if she had been swiped by a monsters claw...

_**-"**__**YOOOU..." **__**David slurred drunkenly as he rounded the corner into the room, Melinda pushed herself as far back as she could and cowered down, "YOU ARE A FUCKING BITCH!" he hollered, Melinda kept her head down but jumped when a huge smash resounded throughout the room, she looked up hesitantly to see David holding a smashed vodka bottle, before she could even scream he had thrown his muscular arm forward and the jagged glass slashed through her side, Melinda's scream rang through the warm air and seemed never ending. Even Joe seemed shocked by what David had done, he stood with wide eyes as David panted heavily and Melinda writhed in agony, blood poured from the three shallow but painful gashes as Melinda cried out in pain. Joe threw a shocked look at David who just laughed, he threw the bottle over his shoulder and crouched down at Melinda's side, with pure hatred in his eyes he spat down on her before walking away with a triumphant grin.-**_

Melinda fell to her knees as her mind was released, the sound of the bottle smashing reverberated through her mind and she ran her fingers over the scar, she crawled into the tall shower and pulled the door shut behind her –_you're not clean-_came her hurtful words again, she turned the hot water on and let it scald her skin, she grabbed the shower gel and smothered herself in it before scrubbing her skin raw with a rough wash glove, her skin stung as her hand ran over it but she ignored the pain-_I need to make myself clean-._

Just can't be nice for Mel for long LOL xx I love her really! X x smiles for Monday x Loving the late start!!! Hehe yeah Chris! Xx I'll update again after college! Xx Lolly xX


	43. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

So sorry to keep you guys waiting x things are a little crazy right now with charity week and fireworks/bonfire/Halloween etc. This is a really long chapter to make up for it, I think it might be one of the longest int the entire story LOL hope you're all well and happy xx Love you guys x Lollii x

It wasn't until half an hour later that Melinda was finally stepping out of the shower, though she didn't feel any better she could barely keep her eyes open and knew she had to go back to bed, Melinda threw her clothes into the washing and picked a dark blue tank top and black shorts, she could feel her chest constricting at the huge open space of the bedroom, it left her feeling exposed and vulnerable, Melinda ran into her closet and shut the door behind her, there was no lock on the door so she took one of the arm chairs and jammed it against the door, she glanced around the room wildly as the walls closed in on her, Melinda replaced the chair and threw the door open before bolting across her bedroom and leaping onto her bed, she pressed herself against the headboard and pulled the covers up to her chin, her hair was tousled and her chest heaved with her quick breaths. There was a light tap at her door and she jumped, the handle turned but Melinda had already locked it "Mel, it's just Livvy, I wanna talk to you before we leave" she said gently, Melinda walked over slowly and opened the door before rushing back to her bed and sitting up so that she could see the entire room clearly "are you okay?" Olivia asked worriedly.

Melinda ignored her and she sighed "Melinda, I'm going to get everyone settled in at my sister's house for the night, I..." her tear filled voice choked up and she took a deep breath before continuing "I'm so sorry that I don't know how to help you...but this is all I can think of right now, I'll get everyone out of the house and then you and I can work together for a while until you feel ready to be around everyone else. Melinda, I need you to promise me...promise that you won't hurt yourself baby..._please_" she pleaded, Melinda closed her eyes against the tears "I swear" she whispered, Olivia nodded "I'll keep my cell phone on me all night, so call if you need anything...anything at all, even if you just wanna hear a familiar voice or you just wanna cry...I'll be there. I'll come back first thing tomorrow, but if you want me back before then you just have to call okay. Do you need anything before I go?" she asked, Melinda shook her head and Olivia kissed her cheek gently "I love you sweetheart, I'll see you tomorrow" she said softly before leaving.

"Honey, are you sure this is a good idea? I don't want her to feel like we're abandoning her" Christopher said as Olivia came down into the kitchen where everyone was waiting with their bags "I think that....I think she needs a little space, it's really hard for her to come home to a house full to the brim with people who wanna talk to her and fuss over her, I think we should give her a day with Jim, he can help her more than we could ever hope to, I'll start working with her tomorrow and we'll take it from there" she said certainly, "Jim, I'm trusting you here, Melinda needs to feel safe, if she'll let you...bring her downstairs and show her when you lock the door, keep the curtains closed and the lights on, don't touch her if she's shying away from you, don't force her to talk, and most importantly..." she handed Jim Melinda's medical kit with a nod "she needs her medication, today is injection day so try to get her to let you do it but if she refuses then let her do them herself, if she won't do them at all then just leave it and I'll take care of it tomorrow. Her sugar shots are in there too, if you see even the slightest sign of an attack come on then I want you to give it to her, I know it's going to be hard...but I need you to promise me Jim...no matter what it takes, if she needs it, you'll do it" she said seriously "I'd do anything to save Melinda" he replied sincerely, she nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist "I love you sweetheart" she whispered "love you too mom" he replied gently, he kissed the top of her head and everyone turned to leave, Mitch and Christopher were the only others to say goodbye.

Jim took a deep breath and headed back up the stairs, he emptied Melinda's medicine and knocked on her door "it's me honey, don't be scared" he said softly, he opened the door and found Melinda in a feverish sleep, she was tangled with the covers and trembling as though it were sub-zero outside, her hands were balled into fists and she tossed and turned about while whimpering softly. Jim felt tears come to his eyes immediately and he kissed her head, after debating what to do he gave a loud sigh, set the pills and injection supplies down on her nightstand and returned to his bedroom to wait for her to wake.

_**-Melinda looked on nervously as Holly filled the needle "you're sure?" Melinda nodded and looked down pointedly; her shaking leg was proof enough. "Do me first" Holly commanded handing her an identical needle to the one she was holding, Melinda glanced at her bedroom door to check once again that it was locked, before she brought Holly's arm so her mouth, she sucked on the soft skin inside her elbow then pulled it away to see the vein smiling up at her, she held Holly's hand as she pushed the needle in slowly, Holly squeezed her hand as the needle was emptied then pulled Melinda's hand to her mouth she ran her tongue over the skin before copying what she had done until her needle was empty too, Melinda smiled and helped her to stash the supplies back into the box underneath photographs then under her bed. **_

_**She held up a finger to say she'd be back before jumping from the bed and moving drunkenly to the door as a tired haze fell over her, she smiled and unlocked her door only to stumble to the floor as she swung it open, laughing silently at herself she began to attempt to stand up, just then Mitch ran up the stairs "God, Melinda!" he cried, Melinda scrambled to her feet and backed away from him in fright as he yelled out, "I'm sorry honey, I didn't mean to scare you, I just heard you fall and got worried, I wouldn't want my sexy little babe to get herself hurt now, would I?" he asked, Melinda's heart pounded as she heard the lust in his voice, she tried to keep up straight as the familiar kaleidoscope of colors burst behind her eyes. "Jim's in the kitchen, he came home early to be with you" Mitch said with a sneer, Melinda's eyes widened, if Jim was home he would know something was wrong, she attempted to bolt past Mitch but his hand closed roughly around her arm, she screamed out as loud as she could but nobody heard, Jim was downstairs with earphones on, Holly was passed out on her bed and Olivia and Christopher were watching the news in the lounge. **_

_**Melinda cried as Mitch pressed her into the wall and ran his hands up her as he plunged his tongue into her mouth, Melinda pushed her head back as far as she could until it hurt but he wouldn't let up, "I'm the one you want" he growled angrily as he pulled Melinda's legs up to sit around his waist then harshly grinded his hips into hers, her vision became blurry as tears filled her eyes "Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please...."-**_

Melinda woke from the strange nightmare screaming breathlessly, she threw the covers off of her and jumped out of the bed, Jim opened her door but stopped with enough distance between them "nightmare?" he asked, Melinda gave a slight nod "do you want me to wait with you until you fall asleep again?" Melinda shook her head and he nodded "Melinda, if you need me...I'm...I'm here for you" he said softly before leaving Melinda could see in his eyes that it hurt him to have to leave her when she was in pain but she couldn't stand the thought of him watching her sleep...there was no way she could let her guard down that far, she couldn't let herself be that vulnerable. She caught sight of her pills on the nightstand and took them into her hand-_I can do this...I have to get better...for them...for the family-_Melinda grabbed a bottle of water from her mini-fridge and managed to take them all without any problems, one by one she filled her needles, she raised the first one to her arm but just as it touched her skin she pulled it back, she ran into the bathroom and emptied them into the sink. Melinda remembered her dream and shivered –_Mitch would never do that Melinda-_ she told herself, but she shook her head against the inner voice-_you never know-._

After climbing back into bed Melinda lay on her side and pulled the covers up to her chin, with a glance at the clock she saw that it was 10:00am, she should be up and about by now but her body was so tired, she closed her eyes and rubbed them tiredly,...-_I guess this is what they meant when they said I wasn't ready to leave hospital-_ she told herself, Melinda turned over and let sleep claim her again.

Her sleep was surprisingly calm and Melinda woke feeling refreshed, she glanced at the clock and her eyes widened, it was 2:30, she rubbed at her face before climbing out of bed and out onto her balcony, the sky was dark and gray with storm clouds, Melinda could see Jim sleeping peacefully in his room and briefly wondered why he was still tired.

-_I love you Jim-_ she thought to herself, Melinda climbed over the railing of the balcony and jumped down onto the roof, the bitingly cold air swirled around her and she shivered, before she could even blink she was hurled unwillingly into the past

_**-"YOU FUCKED UP MY ENTIRE LIFE!" David bellowed, Melinda trembled in fear and wished that her hands were free to shield herself. She had three thick cable ties binding her wrists together and they were being held above her head by Joe. "I HATE YOU" David growled, he clenched a fist and threw it into Melinda's stomach, she screamed out and instinctively moved to pull her knees to her chest but David pushed them down roughly and something sharp pressed into her hip, glancing down in terror she saw the thick blade being dragged back and forth lightly across her skin withou. Melinda screamed again in panic and tried to free herself "STOP" Joe yelled, Melinda cried out as the knife cut through her skin "NO!! Please...please, I'm begging you...I'm begging" she sobbed-**_

Melinda tried to free her mind from the awful memory but it was too strong, she could feel cold moisture tapping away at her she was being held a prisoner in her own mind

_**-"shut the hell up" Joe growled, David stood up and rested a booted foot on Melinda's chest, before she had a chance to scream he lifted it and swung the steel-cap into her side, she screamed out in pain and Joe wrapped his hand around her neck so tightly that the only sound she could make was a strangled sob, David pulled his foot back and slammed it into her again, Melinda heard a sickening crack as it made contact and she struggled as hard as she could but it was no use, "he-LP!" she choked out as Joe let go of her, David kicked her once more and her body flipped over slamming her head into the concrete, she pulled her knees up to her chest and her arms down to shield herself.-**_

Melinda drew in a shaky breath and let it out in a pained sob, she was shivering against the cold and could feel something wet seeping through her clothes but lay down in a tight ball and held herself tightly as if to stop herself from falling to pieces, "Mel?" Jim's frightened voice came, she ignored it completely and focused on calming her hysterical sobbing, "Melinda, please come inside, it's raining baby, you'll get sick!" he called, so that was what she had been feeling- it was pouring with rain, Jim jumped the railings easier than Melinda and fell to his knees beside her, "what do you see baby? What are you remembering?" he asked gently but Melinda couldn't hold onto his voice

_**-"STOP! PLEASE PLEASE" she pleaded, David picked her up roughly by her shoulders and held her against the dark concrete wall, his dark eyes burned into hers and his lips pulled back over his teeth in an animalistic snarl, his handsome face twisted into a mask of cruelty "please let me go" she sobbed, his eyes flashed with hatred and he slammed his fist into her stomach, over and over and over until there was another crack, this one louder. Melinda jerked as the wind flew from her tired lungs, her knees went weak and she looked at him in shock as blood welled from her mouth and spilled down her chin "ple..please" she s pluttered, he growled loudly and pulled her forward before slamming her roughly into the wall, her head rebounded off the concrete and a blinding pain reverberated throughout her skull, Melinda's vision darkened quickly and the last thing she saw was his fist raised above her -**_

Jim reached out to hold Melinda but she flinched involuntarily, she pulled herself to her feet and stumbled back to get away from him, as she blinked tears streamed down her face and David's cruel eyes flashed before her own, like a tattoo inside her eyelids the image followed her. She looked up at the heavy storm and blinked against the rain, Jim stayed still as she climbed over the railings and walked backwards to her door keeping her eyes on him. Once Melinda got into her room she fell to her knees and cried openly, Jim watched her through the window and cried with her "I love you" he sobbed as he saw her crumple to the floor. Melinda couldn't shake the image from her mind, she had been attacked so violently, so brutally...mercilessly, had they beaten her mom and dad the same way? Did they hurt her mom in the same way they hurt her?...She would never know, Melinda cried harder as she thought about them, she needed them now more than ever, much as she loved Livvy and Chris...it could never be the same, Melinda cried until her throat burned and her eyes stung. Occasionally a soft sob would escape like a hiccup from her throat and she would try to keep it inside until she eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

**-....**_**Melinda walked through the clean and shiny school hall to her locker feeling as though there were a million eyes on her, her high heeled boots tapped a steady rhythm as she slowly made her way through the building, she gripped her folder to her chest as if it were holding her together and kept her eyes downcast. As she reached her locker she gasped, in big silver lettering the words 'whore, slut and skank' had been sprayed, she looked around and felt tears run down her cheeks as she realised that there really **__were__** a million eyes on her, everyone was watching- even Holly, Mitch, Alexis, John and Jim, some looking disgusted, others sorry, some amused and most of the boys eyeing her as though they could see straight through her clothes, Melinda shifted uncomfortably and unlocked her locker quickly, as she swung the door open she was greeted by a flood of paper, Melinda picked one of them up and unfolded it as people began to snigger and chuckle, there was a picture of her with no top on, she had both hands on her head and was looking towards a light, she had no memory of it at all –I must have been so out of it- she thought, she knew that the drugs would make her completely uninhibited and perfectly content to do as she was told, in the picture there was a distant grin on her face and her eyes were sparkling in the light, she assumed it had been taken near one of the windows in the warehouse. Another picture showed her with her arms around David and Joes shoulders and she was being kissed by Joe, Melinda felt bile rise in her throat, "who are your man toys Melinda? They're hot" one of the girls called sounding quite impressed, Melinda shook her head slightly as tears streamed down her cheeks, "nice rack babe!" came a guys voice from the front of the crowd. **_

"_**Way to go Gordon!!" came a loud cheer, Melinda burst into sobs as the faces spun around her, laughing, jeering, pictures flitted through her memory and she caught sight of one face she had prayed to God she would never see again, David, the pictures could never capture the same evil that his eyes held in reality, Melinda screamed, screamed so loud that it ripped through her ears-**_

Jim returned to his room defeated and climbed in the shower, he couldn't stop the tears that fell but set his jaw defiantly and refused to break down, he finished quickly and dressed in a green t-shirt and black sweat pants, he opened Melinda's door slowly and found her curled in a ball on the floor by the glass door, she was sleeping far from peacefully and shivering in her wet clothes, "baby" he whispered, Melinda jumped and backed against the window fearfully "I won't hurt you" he whispered, Melinda shook her head and slid down the window until she was sitting, she ducked her head into her knees and covered it with her arms "Mel, I would never hurt you" Jim said softly, he touched her shoulder and her shivering worsened under his touch, like a frightened puppy she cowered in the corner and it broke Jim's heart to know that she viewed him in the same light as her attackers.

"Melinda, you need to change your clothes, you'll get really sick if you stay in those" Jim said, Melinda didn't move so he stood and went into her closet "it looks like Macy's in here" he mumbled in reference to the amount of clothes Melinda had, he pulled some underwear out of her drawer "do these have to match?" he murmured to himself as he eyed the purple bra and blue panties warily, "who cares?" he concluded with a roll of his eyes, he slid open one of her closet doors and his eyes widened "this is harder than I thought" he mumbled, realising that there were no pyjamas in there he slid it shut and opened another but found it much the same, he sighed to himself and opened the bottom drawer of her set. "Bingo" he said as he pulled out a set of leopard printed pyjamas – a small tank top with cream lace trim and 'sleepy head' written across the chest in pink diamantes, with matching shorts that had a cream lace waistband. He grabbed a huge purple towel and took the clothes into Melinda's room, "Mel, I'm gonna leave this stuff here for you...don't be afraid baby, I'll come check on you soon, I...I love you" he said gently before leaving her alone, Melinda didn't look up for a second but eventually took the clothes into the bathroom with her and had yet another shower, she was quicker this time though and was dressed and in bed watching TV within 20 minutes.

"Babe?" came Jim's soft voice, Melinda jumped slightly but forced herself not to run, he stepped inside carrying two mugs of hot cocoa "I know that you don't want me here...but I have to look after you Melinda, I need to take care of you" he said softly, he held out one mug to her and she took it cautiously, "what are you watching?" he asked, Melinda pressed the TV controller and he chuckled when he saw that she was watching High School Musical, "well, I can't say that it would be my first choice, but I think I can stick it out...may I sit down?" he asked gently, Melinda glanced at him nervously and nodded, as he sat with his back propped against the headboard she pushed herself a little further away from him. "You're meant to drink it Mel" he said as she glared at the hot cocoa, Melinda clamped her eyes shut for a second before shoving it away from her and setting it on the nightstand "okay" Jim said, surprised, "uh...you should probably drink something, or eat" he suggested, Melinda ignored him and stared at the screen blankly "Melinda, I don't claim to know what you're going through, and I don't claim to be able to help you...but I want to try, I want you to let me in...and I'm not asking you to do it now, I don't want to force you when you aren't ready, but please try, just tell me this one thing...do you know how much I love you?"

Melinda was still for a moment as her heart raced –_yes...yes, I do...and I love you too Jim-_ she thought, with a tiny smile on her glossed lips she nodded, "okay, that's all I need to know, just...promise me you'll never forget" he said softly, Melinda nodded again and he sighed "okay, so what's with this Ryan guy, is he gay or just _really_ funny?" he asked with a chuckle at the screen as High School Musical played away, Melinda smiled wider and relaxed against the headboard letting her knees rest back down on the bed and her heart calm down.

An hour later Jim could see Melinda's eyelids drooping "you're tired" he whispered, Melinda's head snapped up as if she were just remembering that he was there and she nodded, "you should still be in hospital Melinda" he said softly, she looked at him sadly and nodded "but...you rather get better at home?" he asked, Melinda nodded again and he smiled "well, I'm not saying that I agree with the jailbreak...but I'm glad you're here, I missed you Mel" he smiled softly and stood up, "I'm gonna go down to the pool for a while but I'll come check on you, sleep well baby" he picked up her hand gently and kissed it which made her shiver, but not in fear...in pleasure. Melinda let the hot tingles wash over her as she shuffled down and rolled onto her side, Jim smiled at her and she returned it tiredly "love you" he whispered before leaving.

_**-Melinda had woken up on Sunday morning with a blinding headache, she was laying in a pool of her own blood and had new bruises everywhere and more cuts across her neck which she didn't remember ever happening, David and Joe had been asleep until the sound of a police cars wailing siren neared them, both men jumped up and peered out of the window, Melinda could feel relief and hope lift her heart. Within seconds that hope was crushed, just as soon as the noise had come...it was gone, Melinda cried hopelessly as David laughed at her "I think we should end this soon, you're looking a little beaten" he joked, Melinda sobbed against the concrete floor as he dragged her limp body towards him-**_

Melinda jolted awake and sat bolt upright "Jim?" she whispered, but he was gone. She felt tears well up in her eyes and rubbed at them sadly "Jim, come back" she whimpered, met with silence she lay back down and hugged herself, her body ached as the horror pulled her back in.

_**-"I need the bathroom" she whimpered, David looked down from the TV screen to where Melinda was curled up in a tight ball at his feet, he huffed in frustration but pulled her up nonetheless, he dragged her across the floor and her feet scraped the rough concrete, he dropped her in the doorway of a large and almost empty bathroom, once she was finished she came out and he was gone. Melinda's eyes flickered to the elevator, if David had gone back to the bedroom then surely she could make it in time, her mind was made up. Melinda staggered as quickly as she could leaving bloody footprints behind, she glanced over her shoulder and pressed the button, her heartbeat thumped in her ears as the doors slid open, she had one foot in when something pulled her back, she landed on the floor with a loud scream "NOOO!" she cried, a fist flew into her face and the taste of copper filled her mouth, she reached up to shield herself but her bloody wrists were grabbed roughly and she was forced to her feet, "I don't wanna go back there! PLEASE!" she screamed-**_

Xxxxxxxxxx Review pleeeeease xxxxxxxxxX


	44. Chapter 44

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

Xx sorry it took so long x I was having trouble getting on FF for a while xx enjoy!!!! Xx Lolly xX

Previously (just to refresh your minds)

_**-Melinda had woken up on Sunday morning with a blinding headache, she was laying in a pool of her own blood and had new bruises everywhere and more cuts across her neck which she didn't remember ever happening, David and Joe had been asleep until the sound of a police cars wailing siren neared them, both men jumped up and peered out of the window, Melinda could feel relief and hope lift her heart. Within seconds that hope was crushed, just as soon as the noise had come...it was gone, Melinda cried hopelessly as David laughed at her "I think we should end this soon, you're looking a little beaten" he joked, Melinda sobbed against the concrete floor as he dragged her limp body towards him-**_

_Melinda jolted awake and sat bolt upright "Jim?" she whispered, but he was gone. She felt tears well up in her eyes and rubbed at them sadly "Jim, come back" she whimpered, met with silence she lay back down and hugged herself, her body ached as the horror pulled her back in._

_**-"I need the bathroom" she whimpered, David looked down from the TV screen to where Melinda was curled up in a tight ball at his feet, he huffed in frustration but pulled her up nonetheless, he dragged her across the floor and her feet scraped the rough concrete, he dropped her in the doorway of a large and almost empty bathroom, once she was finished she came out and he was gone. Melinda's eyes flickered to the elevator, if David had gone back to the bedroom then surely she could make it in time, her mind was made up. Melinda staggered as quickly as she could leaving bloody footprints behind, she glanced over her shoulder and pressed the button, her heartbeat thumped in her ears as the doors slid open, she had one foot in when something pulled her back, she landed on the floor with a loud scream "NOOO!" she cried, a fist flew into her face and the taste of copper filled her mouth, she reached up to shield herself but her bloody wrists were grabbed roughly and she was forced to her feet, "I don't wanna go back there! PLEASE!" she screamed-**_

* * *

Melinda woke up suddenly with sweat dampening her body, her throat was dry and scratchy and she knew she had been screaming in her sleep again, Jim rushed into the room and froze in the doorway, "please Melinda, please!" he sobbed, she watched in terror as he came closer, "I can't take this anymore, please let me hold you" he cried, Melinda stood slowly and faced him, "Melinda, I'm going crazy, I have to hear you scream and I know that your nightmares are getting worse and worse and there's nothing I can do to help you because you won't let me! Please Melinda, I am begging you to let me love you" tears streamed down their cheeks in unison and a sob escaped Melinda's throat, Jim approached her slowly, palms up, just like the first day Melinda ever spent in the Jenner's house, the first time she felt safe, the first time she had heard Jim's quiet voice and let it wrap her in peace. "Melinda, I love you" he sobbed, Melinda lifted her eyes to meet his and the pain was overwhelming, she was the reason he was hurting, she was doing this to him, she could feel the light headedness washing over her, the floor looking suspiciously atilt as Jim swayed before her, or perhaps it was _her _that was swaying, she needed her medication, she knew she couldn't stay conscious much longer, pale and clammy skin was covered in sweat even as her body shivered against the empty freeze working its way through her chest. It didn't go unnoticed by Jim "Melinda! Oh God, Melinda, no, I don't have a choice, I have to, I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry but I have to" Jim sobbed as he reached for the medical kit on her bedside table, Melinda shook her head fearfully, her eyes begging him _please don't do it, please don't do this to me_ she knew it was in vain, Jim would do whatever he had to in order to save her.

Melinda's eyes flickered to the door, she could run, she could get past him if she tried, he was fast but she was faster, and smaller, lighter on her feet. Jim caught her gaze "no, no, I won't let you do it Melinda, I won't let you run away from me, we have to do this" he insisted, his voice shaky with sobs, "I'm so sorry" he whispered, and that was it. Melinda's body sprang into action, but her tired limbs didn't respond the way they usually would, four steps, maybe just three, because on the fourth step her foot didn't even have a chance to hit the ground before she was caught by steel arms. Her body was pinned under Jim's on the bed as she thrashed, Jim kept one knee pressed into her chest holding her hands down as heavily as he could without hurting her but was unaware of how hard he was pressing her "YOU'RE HURTING ME! MOM! HELP ME, SOMEONE HELP ME!" she screamed, Jim flinched at the shock of hearing her voice after so long, he set up her needle as quickly as he could "I love you Melinda, I love you, please remember that baby, I'm doing this because I lo-" "DADDY!! Daddy please....please don't let him do it, Jim! Jim don't do this to me, no!" she cried.

Jim sobbed as he pushed the needle into her stomach and she screamed even louder, she knew she needed it, she knew she was about to pass out, but still it terrified her, Christopher and Olivia wouldn't be back for hours, she knew that too, she was alone with Jim...she was alone with him and he was hurting her. "I...I _hate_ you" was her whisper as Jim pulled her into his arms so that her back was pressed against his chest and she was sitting on his lap, she felt a small crack followed by an intense pain in her chest but ignored it and focused on Jim, an iron cage from which she knew she couldn't escape, "I don't care Melinda, as long as you're alive, you can hate me all you want baby, but I won't let you go, I can't" he sobbed into her hair, Melinda clamped her eyes shut against the pain...

_**-**__"it's an eternity ring, I know people usually get them when they're married or they have a kid but there are no specific rules, it has the same meaning though, I'm here to stay Melinda...I'll never stop loving you...you're mine and I'm yours" he whispered...._

_... Jim gently took the ring from her and reached out for her left hand, "is this okay?" he asked holding her ring finger between two of his, Melinda was unable to speak and so just nodded, Jim slid the ring onto her finger and kissed it lightly, "forever" Melinda whispered through her tears, "and then some" Jim joked, she laughed tearfully and took a deep breath, Jim wiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her slowly, Melinda traced his bottom lip with her tongue before exploring his mouth completely..._

_.... "I __want__ to" Melinda whispered before biting her lip. Jim nodded and held her face between his hands "are you sure?" he asked searching her eyes for any kind of doubt, Melinda smiled and placed her hands over his "I've never been so sure of anything in my life"...._

_.... "just remember, you can say stop at any time if you want to" he whispered...-_

As the pain in her chest burned too hot to bear, Melinda found herself unable to hold on to her consciousness "Jim" she whimpered as she was plunged into darkness.

**-**_**Melinda craned her neck and lifted her head slightly so she could see his face, so much pain, so much love in those glistening blue eyes, she could never hate him. Melinda tried to lift her hand but Jim had them pinned by her sides as he rocked her slowly, she pulled her arm harder and looked at him pleadingly, Jim looked down at her in surprise and loosened his grip, Melinda lifted a hand to his cheek and wiped the tears from it softly, her lip quivered with effort to hold in the sobs as she stroked his neck, his forehead, his eyelids, his lips, his nose, memorising each of his perfect features. Melinda turned in his arms and let her legs sit either side of him, she ran her hands through his hair and closed her eyes letting herself feel the silky strands slip between her fingers, she couldn't hold it in any longer, Melinda wrapped her arms around his neck as heart-wrenching sobs wracked her whole body, she held Jim so tight that she worried he might not be able to breathe any more, Jim held Melinda's body against his own and cried with her, for the life that was almost lost, the pain that was caused and the love that they almost destroyed.**_**- **

"_**Please don't push me away Melinda" he begged, Melinda nodded slightly and buried her face into his neck, "I didn't mean it Jim, I should never have said it, I don't hate you, I never could...I..I love you, God, please believe me, I love you so much" she cried, Jim released her and pulled her back to study her face, "I love you too honey, I never stopped, never" he brushed his thumb over Melinda's bottom lip softly and she pressed a kiss to it, "I was lost, so lost...I still am. I don't know how to get through this on my own" such a small teary voice, so broken, "you don't have to, I'm here, I wanna help, I want you to let me in, let me love you, and everything else will fall into place, it will take time, and it won't be easy, but we'll be together" he whispered, Melinda took in a long shaky breath as she touched Jim's lips gently with her fingertips "are you okay?" he asked, she nodded before leaning forward nervously, Jim followed so there was only millimetres between them and Melinda closed the distance, her lips captured Jim's gently and she relaxed against him. Jim's hands wrapped around her, one across her back and holding onto her waist, the other disappearing into her hair as their lips danced, Melinda smiled against Jim, the first real smile for such a long time, and Jim took a mental picture to eternalize that moment, "I love you" he whispered, Melinda wiped the tears from her face and lay her head against his chest, listening to the soft thrumming beneath her ear she nodded "I love you too" she whispered.-**_

Jim turned Melinda around as she fell limp in his arms "Mel?" he asked as his sobbing halted, she didn't answer and her head fell forward "Melinda!" he yelled, she jumped slightly and looked at him as she was pulled from her beautiful dream, she coughed roughly and pain shot across her ribs in a tight band around her chest.

Melinda tried to take a deep breath but it caught in her throat and she coughed again but this time couldn't stop "Jim...you hurt me" she said softly, she couldn't deny it any longer, Jim had held her too tightly and now her chest burned fiercely, it felt like being stabbed from the inside out and then having someone stand on her chest, her breathing was becoming laboured and took on a frightening liquid sound. "I know baby, and I'm so sorry, I wish I could take it all back and-" "no, Jim, I mean you _hurt_ me...something's wrong...I can't-" Melinda gagged as if she were going to be sick but what came out was even more terrifying, deep red blood spilled over her chin and she shivered "OH MY GOD!" Jim yelled, he pulled his t shirt over his head and pulled Melinda up so she was sitting against the headboard "don't move, hold this" he wiped her mouth and held his t-shirt to it "you're gonna be fine Melinda, I swear you'll be okay" he promised gently, he grabbed her cell phone and dialled 911, while on the phone he changed into another t-shirt and hoody and pulled some sneakers on, Melinda wrapped her arms around her chest and doubled over as more blood came up, "Ji-m, I...I need, help" she choked, Jim hung up the phone and gathered her into his arms "everything's gonna be okay Mel, they're on their way" he whispered. He carried her into her wardrobe and set her down on one of the armchairs "sssh, you're okay" he soothed, he pulled some random things from various draws, shelves and rails into a bag then ran around to his room and did the same, he grabbed a pair of long pyjama pants and pulled them up Melinda's legs before wrapping her in a blanket and gathering her into his arms "I hurt" she whimpered, Jim kissed her head "I'm so sorry Mel, so sorry" he whispered.

Melinda was caught in another coughing fit as Jim carried her down the stairs, "Jim Clancy!?" came an unfamiliar voice "I'm here!" he yelled back, as they reached the bottom of the stairs four paramedics were just walking through the front door "she's been in hospital for the past month...she had her ribs wired but I think one of them broke again...she was saying she couldn't breathe and then she couldn't stop coughing..." he trailed off as they lifted her gurney easily into the back of the ambulance they had parked outside "was she injured again?" one of them asked, he kept Melinda sitting up and supported her back with his hands, Jim opened his mouth but couldn't find the words, how could he explain that he had held her down? That he had held her so tightly she screamed? That she had begged him to get off of her but he wouldn't- "I fell o..over" Melinda spluttered, he threw her a shocked look but she gave a small shake of her head "I just fell over" she repeated.

"We'll be there soon, relax Melinda, I'm just going to give you something for the pain honey" the paramedic said, he quickly worked to insert an IV plug in the back of her hand without the medicine attached to it, he injected morphine into it and almost instantly Melinda relaxed "are you okay?" Jim asked, she nodded "m'tired" she mumbled "Jim, I need you to place your hands on Melinda's head and keep it steady for me, can you do that?" the medic asked, Jim nodded and did as he was told "I..Can't breath...I..I..ca-" Melinda choked, she coughed again and gripped the paramedic's hand as blood welled from her mouth. "Okay Melinda, I need you to try to sit still, I'm going to insert a very thin tube into your throat and I need for you not to panic" he said softly, Melinda nodded as she gagged and spluttered more blood which ran down her chin and soaked through her tank top "pl..ease" she whimpered desperately, "it's okay sweetie, just stay calm, open your mouth nice and wide", Melinda did as she was told and a thin tube was pushed down her throat making her splutter a little but she managed to control it. "I'm in" he announced to himself, he flipped a switch and left a tall silver machine on for about half a minute before pulling the tube swiftly from Melinda's throat, "is that a little better?" he asked, Melinda nodded tiredly as she felt the air swirl around her lungs savouring the relief it brought.

"Mel...I'm so sorry" Jim whispered, Melinda shook her head "not...your fault" she whispered back, "I did this to you Melinda" he said sadly "Ji-m, I didn't mean it...I don't hate...you, I was j-just scared...I'm sorry" she cried, the paramedic looked between them anxiously as her crying turned into another coughing fit, "you have every right to hate me...but I'm pretty damn glad you don't" Jim said softly, Melinda held her and out and he laced his fingers with hers "you'll be okay".

Xx This is the last time I hurt Mel LOL ...at least in HWC x will she be alright? Hang tight and I'll update ASAp xxxx


	45. Chapter 45

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

Thank you Moxxie Angel for catching up with HWC and reviewing every single Chapter as you went, you're amazing xx your kind comments uplifted me and got me writing again today doll xxxxxx

"ETA- 3minutes out!" the driving medic yelled, Melinda was shivering delicately and gripping Jim's hand so tightly that her knuckles were white, "Jim...I.I..lo-..I love you" she stuttered through trembling lips, Jim shook his head as tears streamed down his cheeks "don't say it like that baby, don't say it like you're saying goodbye" he sobbed, Melinda nodded "but...I can't..can't..it hurts so bad Jim" she cried, the paramedic replaced Jim's hands on her back "we're almost there Melinda, I know it hurts but we're going to get you help, just try to stay with us" the medic said softly, Melinda nodded and doubled over as blood poured from her mouth and ran down her chest "wh-..at's...happe..happening?" she spluttered between coughs, the paramedic kept his hands around Melinda's back but brought his face down to her level "sweetheart, just try to relax, we're at the hospital now, they'll make you better, you'll be taken into surgery right away and they'll reset your ribs, once that's done you'll be fine. You're going to be okay honey" he whispered, Melinda was pacified by his confidence and gave a small nod. "Out back!" the driver yelled before jumping out of the ambulance, a couple of seconds later the back doors were thrown open and the gurney was wheeled out. "Don't...let.m. go" Melinda sobbed as she was run into the hospital, Jim ran beside her and kept his hand around hers "I can't go in with you baby, I'm sorry" he cried, Melinda shook her head "I'm sc..scared" she whimpered, Jim nodded "I know Mel, but I swear I'll be waiting as soon as you get out, I'll be the first face you see when you wake up, promise" he said softly.

"What do we have?!" a doctor yelled as they got through the doors "17 year old female, had her ribs wired over a month ago-" "JIM!" everyone looked up as Dr McNamara ran through the hall "no! What happened?" she asked "she...fell" Jim choked, "I'll take surgery, Johnson! Go scrub up and prep the OR" she yelled, Jim walked briskly beside her as she attempted to examine Melinda while rushing. "HE..LP" Melinda choked as she doubled over in pain, a wet cough was followed by another wave of red from her mouth "I think her lung's been perforated, I need to get this done quickly" she said to herself. "I love you baby" Jim said as they reached the doors of the OR, Melinda had already been injected with an emergency anaesthetic and was falling asleep fast, he rested his hands on the back of his head and leaned back against the wall, sobbing as he slid down to the floor he held his head in his hands and cried.

"WHAT?!" Olivia screamed through the phone, it had been a full hour since Melinda went into surgery and Jim had called Olivia and Christopher to let them know what was going on, "they took her into surgery and...she was so scared Liv" he said softly, she took a deep breath "I'm on my way honey" she said softly "she'll be out soon, a nurse came and told me they were finishing up a few minutes ago, I think she'll be okay, but they might make her stay in hospital now" he said sadly, "whatever's best for her, I'll be there in a few hours Jim, take care of her" she said tiredly before hanging up.

Jim sighed as he thought about Olivia, all she ever did was give, she was a constant ray of light in their lives and had saved him from himself many times...it hurt him to see her so frantic, so fraught with worry, but he knew that it was just in her nature to care for everyone even at her own expense. "Jim" the soft voice shook him from his thoughts and he looked up to see Dr McNamara smiling down at him, Jim stood up quickly "is she okay?" he asked, she smiled "Melinda's surgery went perfectly, two of her rib wires snapped and one of her ribs was re-fractured but it was actually much less serious than it looked, the wire perforated her left lung but the bleeding was localised so she was able to keep breathing, we've had to reset her ribs so she'll be in bandages for a couple of weeks and we're going to keep her in for as long as she'll let us, but after that she should be absolutely fine, she's actually been healing very nicely so far" she said happily.

Jim let out a deep sigh of relief and smiled "thank you so much, can I see her?" "sure sweetie, she's gonna be a little groggy when she wakes up so press the button beside the bed and we'll come give her the pain meds. If she starts coughing I need you to turn on the oxygen tank for me. She's back in the same room as before" she said with a smile before heading off into reception. Jim smiled and made his way up to the next floor and through the hallways until he came to the room that Melinda had spent the past month sleeping in, "I never wanted to come back here" he whispered to himself as he touched the door, he opened it slowly and was met with soft beeps from Melinda's heart monitor "oh honey..." he whispered as he looked at her, covered up to her chest with wires and tubes leading to the far too familiar machines he had hoped he would never see within a mile of Melinda again. Jim sat on the edge of her bed and kissed her head gently "I know that this is hard for you, you've been through more than anyone in the world should ever have to Melinda, you've had things done to you that I can't even...-I just want you to know how brave you are, I know you wanted to be back at home and go back to normal, but this is what you need. You have to be taken care of right now sweetheart, and that's okay because everyone _wants_ to help, everyone wants to be there for you, to help you through this. Everyone loves you..."

Jim brushed his fingers across Melinda's cheek and winced when they touched the oxygen tube which was taped down and ran from her lungs through her nose and into a large canister. "Melinda?" he asked quietly, she gave a tiny nod with her eyes closed and Jim smiled "how do you feel?" he asked, she winced slightly as she attempted to shift a little to the side then opened her eyes with a few deliberate blinks to focus her tired vision. Jim pressed the call button and smiled "they said they'll come give you some pain meds so you should feel better soon. Olivia's on her way over with Christopher right now...Melinda I.." he trailed off guiltily and sighed.

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, I shouldn't have been so rough, I can't believe I hurt you again, seems like that's all I'm capable of right now...I didn't mean to Mel, I swear I wasn't trying to cause you any pain..." the nurse came in with a smile on her face "how are you feeling sweetie?" she asked, Melinda gave a small nod and yawned "I'm going to give you some pain medication okay?" she said as she injected it into Melinda's IV, "just call if you need anything hun" she said before she left.

Jim lifted Melinda's hand into his own and held it gently, he stroked her fingers with his and felt more tears come to his eyes, "I _hurt _you" he whispered brokenly, Melinda squeezed his hand as best she could and gave a tiny shake of her head. Jim sighed and lay his free hand on her cheek "I don't know how to do this Melinda, I don't know how to be what you need, I don't know how to make you happy anymore. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I let them hurt you...I'm so sorry I wasn't there...I'm sorry" he sobbed, Melinda cried silently with him as he raked his fingers roughly through his hair in frustration.

"I have to tell you how I feel, I have to let you know that this isn't easy for me, I'm not taking a single second with you for granted, I just...." he trailed off nervously and Melinda opened her hand inviting him to hold it, Jim laced his fingers with her and lay his head on their hands "there's a part of me that wants to know every detail, everything those bastards did, everything they said...I tell myself that's because I want to understand you and how you're feeling, but I don't know if that's true...I think....I think maybe I want to punish myself for letting this happen to you, if I know how much they hurt you then I can use it to hurt myself. I feel like I _need_ to suffer for what happened. It hurts even more that you forgave me so willingly, what kind of monster am I to have hurt someone as kind and sweet and loving as you? Do I even deserve to be with you anymore? Did I ever?" Jim had tears running fast down his cheeks as he finally let out everything that had stayed buried as he waited to find out if Melinda would be okay, he had held so much in that he almost lost himself.

"I yelled at you Mel, that day, I _yelled_ at my girlfriend, and God...what I _said_ to you. I saw my mom and dad live happy all my life, they were just so _together_, he never once raised his voice around her, I don't think he ever _could_. I promised myself that was the kind of man I wanted to be, the kind of _husband_ I wanted to be, one that listened and didn't get mad, who comforted and didn't judge...I failed on every one of those fronts, I was awful to you Melinda, I can't stand the guilt I feel every time I look at you...I see you laying there, weak and fragile...and I know that _I_ did that, but....I need that guilt to stay with me, I need to pay for what I did to you, you suffered so much because of me...I don't know if there's ever a way I can make that right Mel, I just want you to hate me, I need you to get mad, to yell and scream and tell me you never want to see me again because that's what I deserve! I deserve to go to hell a million times Melinda, I don't deserve forgiveness or love...and I sure as hell don't deserve you" he finished quietly, Melinda took in a deep shaky breath through her tears and shook her head forcefully "I ..I lo-" she choked before coughing heavily, Jim jumped up and turned on the oxygen and she nodded gratefully "don't try to speak baby, I know....I know what you were trying to say...and I love you too, even though I have no right to, I love you with everything that I am" he whispered, Jim leaned over her and lowered his face to hers slowly, Melinda showed no resistance so he kissed her cheek gently.

Melinda turned her head and captured Jim's lips softly, Jim kissed her carefully then pulled back from her and smiled, he brushed his fingertips gently across her cheek and she leaned into him, "I've decided Melinda...I have to know...when you're ready, I want you to tell me what happened. All of it" he whispered, Melinda searched his eyes for any sign of doubt, she knew how much it would hurt him to hear what she had been through, but if he felt like he needed to know then she couldn't refuse him, she nodded slowly and pouted, "god Mel, I've missed that so much...your eyes, that pout, that heart" he whispered before kissing her again, this kiss wasn't as careful, it was passionate and full of need and Melinda found her thoughts just as scrambled as the first time she had ever looked into Jim's powder blue eyes. Jim felt the same tingle spread through every fibre of his being and carry with it every coherent thought he could manage "wow...you make me forget everything else, everything but you just disappears" Jim said softly.

Just then the doors were thrown open and Olivia flew in breathlessly "Oh honey! You're awake!" she said with relief, she ran to Melinda's side and hesitated "are you gonna sucker punch me this time?" she asked with a grimace and a tiny smile broke out on Melinda's face before she shook her head "thank god!" Olivia said with a smile before cupping Melinda's cheeks and kissing her head, Christopher walked in slowly and shuffled his weight from one foot to the other awkwardly "hey honey...uh...can I come in?" he asked, Melinda nodded and smiled at him. Christopher beamed back at her and approached her slowly "is this okay?" he asked as leaned down, Melinda nodded nervously and he kissed her cheek. "Tell me everything" Olivia demanded, Jim shot Melinda a panicked look and she squeezed his hand in encouragement, he knew she was giving him permission to lie, she was going to let them think it hadn't been anyone's fault. "Melinda was coming back from the bathroom and she just tripped I guess, I heard her fall and I came into her room, she was crying and...I could tell she was in pain. She tried to talk but she was bleeding and coughing and so I just called the ambulance.." he lied, his worn shaky voice was convincing enough and Olivia nodded sadly.

"How do you feel now honey?" Christopher asked and Melinda gave a small nod but looked a little uncomfortable, "are you okay?" Jim whispered, she shook her head and her breaths were shaky

_**-**__**"Melinda" Jim sighed in a warning tone, Melinda wiped tears from her eyes "I'm sorry" she whispered, they had been attempting dinner for half an hour, Jim had finished but Melinda had only managed half of a small slice of pizza, "eat this" Jim held a piece to her lips and she shook her head "please, I don't want to" she whimpered, "Melinda, you have to, come on" he held it there until she opened her mouth, Melinda chewed it reluctantly and swallowed with a frown, Jim repeated the same process despite Melinda's protests and tears, on the third chunk of pizza Melinda clamped a hand over her mouth "I'm gonna be sick" she whimpered before bolting to the girls bathroom, Jim hesitated at the sign but decided that he didn't care, it's not like there was anyone else there anyway. He rushed in but Melinda had locked the door of the cubicle she was in "Melinda? Are you okay?" he was answered with Melinda's quiet retching along with the occasional curse word. "Mel?" "this is your fault!" she cried before being sick again, there wasn't much in her stomach to bring up so it was painful and she had hot tears rolling down her face, "Melinda, I'm sorry, I just...it's hard seeing you like this, I'm so scared for you, I don't know how to make you better and you don't seem to be able to do it yourself**_"-

Melinda shuddered at the memory and pulled her hand away from Jim-_ he forced me- _she thought angrily, a knot tightened between her brow and she glared at her lap "Melinda?" Jim asked quietly, she averted her eyes and sighed softly

"_**Don't touch me, I'm fine" she growled, Jim flinched and stepped back as Melinda stormed out of the room, she ran into the lounge and lay on the couch deciding to stay there for the night. Jim stormed into the lounge and stopped in front of where Melinda was lying down "don't tell me you're fine, you've had a headache on and off for two weeks now, you've been vomiting all week, you're tired all the time, you never eat or drink. I won't just sit back and watch you do this to yourself, for god's sake Melinda I can't!" he yelled finally letting out some of his pent up anger, tears sprang to Melinda's eyes and she sat up and hugged her knees, "I'm getting better every day-" she began but was cut off by Jim "you're **__**not**__** getting better Melinda, you're getting worse...this is the longest time I've ever seen someone suffer voluntarily. I don't understand what's wrong with you! Is your dark side enjoying this, huh? Is the little masochist inside of you rejoicing in your pain? I'm trying so hard to let you heal in your own time, but I can't do it anymore Mel, you're not the only one who's scared, it terrifies me to think that something could happen to you one day and I won't be there to protect you" he yelled towering over her.**_

_**Melinda looked completely terrified and made no move to stop the hot tears that streamed quickly down her cheeks. "Good. I'm glad you're crying because it shows me that you're still in there, because I swear to God Melinda sometimes I really do wonder, I don't want to hurt you, but you need to hear this...you need to wake the hell up, not just for you but for the whole family. Do you know that there's not a single night in the past week that Olivia hasn't cried? Chris hasn't been able to think straight he's so fraught with worry, the girls are scared to death that something's gonna happen to you, all Mitch wants to do is help you and all I can do is sit here and watch you waste away. I'm sorry, but if you intend to lay there until you die then you can do it on your own! At least then everyone else could get over it and move on!" he yelled at the top of his lungs with angry tears rolling down his cheeks. Melinda flinched and recoiled as though he had slapped her "please don't walk away from me, I'll make myself better, I swear Jim, I'll do everything I can" she said when he picked up his jacket, "Jim, don't leave me here" she pleaded "I need to get some air" he replied harshly slamming the door behind him.-**_

"Honey, you're shaking" Christopher said softly, Melinda flinched and clamped her eyes shut "sweetheart, what's going on, did you see something, remember something?" Olivia asked, Melinda ignored her completely and blinked against tears which began rolling down her cheeks –_he didn't want me, he walked away...so easily, I can't have meant all that much to him if he could leave me behind without looking back-_ her sad thoughts pushed a lump into her throat and she fought against the waiting sobs. "Melinda, talk to me" Christopher whispered, Jim reached out to wipe the tears from her cheeks and she leaned away from him "what did I do?" he asked, she looked into his eyes tiredly and shook her head in disappointment-_how can I tell him it's all okay? IT's NOT...this __**was**__ his fault, he didn't care, he wanted me to die...and he almost got his wish-_ she wiped the tears from her face and leaned her head back against the bed –_I'll be okay someday, I'll go back to Olive Crest and start over, maybe I'll stay with Lisa...who am I kidding? No one would want me now...I'll just have to stay at OC until I'm old enough to live by myself, that's only one year...I can manage by myself. That's it...I'll go back to California...alone-._

_**Xxxxxxxxxxx Lolly xxxxxxxxxxX**_


	46. Chapter 46

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

_**-The sound of dripping was all that could be heard, the room was pitch black, not even a sliver of moonlight to illuminate her hell, Melinda was shivering as a strong icy wind blew through the glassless window she tried to turn but whimpered as a new wave of pain washed over her tired body...just let me die...she thought desperately, but there would be no mercy for her, she would suffer-**_

_**-**__**What the hell is wrong with you?!"Joe demanded, Melinda was shaking violently as her eyes rolled under fluttering lids, Joe slapped her face roughly and she struggled to focus on his eyes "I.I...I.I..c.'t .stop" she stammered as her chest began to feel like it was caving in on itself, she gasped as David shoved Joe out the way and pulled Melinda up so that she was sitting against the wall, her shaking eventually slowed to a calm shiver and she was able to focus again, "what was that?" David demanded, "I t..told you, I have hy..hypoglycaemia, when my blood sugar..-" she whimpered as his cold fingers wound around her throat, "enough of your whining. Get on your knees" he snarled, Melinda tried to do as she was told but was so weak that her body wouldn't respond, "III.I can't" she stammered, Davis pulled her up by her hair and threw her against the wall laughing when she screamed, "it's gonna be a good night Melinda, I can feel it"-**_

Melinda woke up wide-eyed and sweating, her breaths came in short gasps and she felt light-headed, "Melinda?" Olivia whispered sleepily, her head was resting next to Melinda's stomach where she had fallen asleep, "OH God, Calm down baby girl!" she yelled as Melinda's body trembled in fright, Jim jolted awake yelling out in shock and bringing Chris to attention, Melinda glared at all of them and gripped the bed sheets tightly as she tried to calm her breathing. "Get out, quickly" Olivia ordered gently, Melinda clamped her eyes shut and turned away from them all, her chest was constricting painfully and she worked hard until eventually her breathing evened out and she could think straight. "Mel?" Jim's soft voice came, she opened her eyes and turned to look at him "can I sit with you?" he whispered.

**Please do not read this if you're under 18, or if you think you might be disturbed by this, **_**skip over the bold writing**_**. This is a flashback detailing sexual violence.**

"Do you remember everything now?" Jim asked softly as he took the seat beside her bed, his face fell when she pushed herself away from him and pulled the covers up to her chin as if she wanted to hide in fear. Melinda shook her head gently "just some of it?" Jim inquired, she nodded and turned away from him "can I touch you?" he whispered, he reached out with gentle finger tips and touched the back of Melinda's hand rubbing it softly

_**-**__**Melinda could feel her lungs freezing with the cold of the air around her, the trunk of the car did not provide much insulation, she struggled against the cable ties endlessly until they broke her skin and every time she moved they dug a little further into her flesh, she could feel her body protesting against every move she made but she didn't stop, "LET ME OUT!!"-**_

Melinda pulled away from Jim and he sighed "I'm sorry, I just... I need to be close to you, I need to know that you're going to be okay" he whispered.

- _**she screamed over and over until she felt the car stop, the trunk was thrown open and David pulled her out roughly by her shoulders and threw her on the dirt, they were on a deserted road surrounded by trees, she knew nobody would hear her, David lifted her by her hair and punched her hard in the stomach, she yelped in pain and doubled over "stop, please stop" she sobbed "you. Will. Suffer" he growled-**_

"I wish there was something I could do to take your pain away somehow, but I all I can do is love you Melinda, I just really hope that's enough" Jim took a deep breath and smiled at the ring hanging from a chain around Melinda's neck "I hope that one day you'll be able to look at me...and not...not see what I did to you, just see me. But that's asking so much, I know. I just miss you Mel, I would give my life a thousand times over to change what happened....to take back what I said....to hold you in my arms and tell you that everything will be alright. There isn't a second that goes by when I don't hear my words ringing through my head over and over and over like a stuck record..."

-_** as David threw Melinda against the side of the car, her head hit it so hard that it bounced off the metal and she fell to her knees "Joe, get me a shot" David commanded roughly, Joe fumbled around in the car then held a needle out, Melinda squirmed on the floor "is this what you want?" he asked, "I don't wanna feel you anymore" she sobbed-**_

Melinda reached out for the notepad and pen that had been left on her bedside table and winced as her chest throbbed painfully, she wrote slowly with weak and shaky hands but her handwriting was legible enough '_I want to go home'. _"I know honey, but you have to stay here for a while, once you're stronger they'll let you come home and you can relax as long as you want, but right now this is the best place for you to be" he said softly, she shook her head and angrily underlined the word '_home'_.

_**-David chuckled and handed the needle back to Joe, "that's just too bad baby girl, cause' I wanna feel you" he snarled, Melinda whimpered and his mouth travelled from her neck to her mouth and he kissed her hungrily, his hands ran over her skin and Melinda clamped her eyes shut and screamed for she knew what was going to happen....again-**_

"What do you mean?" he asked, Melinda dropped the pen on her lap and turned her face away from him deliberately, "Melinda, don't pretend I'm not here baby, I just want to help you" he said sounding hurt, Melinda sighed and picked up the pen again with a frown, she drew little arrows pointing to the word home and wrote things around it '_mom and dad' 'Lisa' 'Olive Crest' 'School' 'Friends'._ She ripped the page out and thrust it at Jim before writing in capital letters on the next sheet _'H.O.M.E.-CALIFORNIA'_, Jim shook his head disbelievingly "you don't mean that baby, you're just feeling confused right now, and you're hurt and angry...you don't need to move a thousand miles away to get better Melinda, you can't leave, _please"_ he pleaded. "What about everyone else?... the family? Livvy and Chris?...what about me? I love you Melinda, I _love_ you".

_**-"Shut UP!" David yelled, she struggled against the ties around her wrists and felt them slice further "please, PLEASE, I'M BEGGING!" she cried, he chuckled before throwing his fist into her stomach hard, she writhed in pain as he forced her onto her back so she was lying on her tied hands, "please don't do this to me" she whimpered, he glanced at her face and studied her fearful expression "you need to know what it feels like...to have all control taken away from you, to be down on your knees and begging for mercy" he snarled, his hands ran up Melinda's legs and she shuddered "no, please God...NO!" -**_

"Melinda, what are you thinking about? Are you remembering something? Tell me..." Jim begged, she ignored him as tears rolled fast down her pallid cheeks "please" he whispered, Melinda picked up the pen and wrote _'I wish I could forget, because what I remember...makes me wish I'd never woken up'_ Jim read it and his eyes filled "sssh, don't say that honey, it's okay, you're safe now" he whispered, "trust me".

_**-David reached Melinda's waist and pulled her closer "I'll make you pray for death Melinda, I'll make you scream out for help, plead with me to end your miserable existence" he growled as he pulled her panties down her kicking legs "don't fight me" he commanded, she screamed into her heart-wrenching sobs as he pulled his own trousers down and forced her legs apart-**_

'_I told him to stop, I begged him not to do it'_ Melinda wrote slowly on the paper, _'he forced me'_ Jim read it and felt hot rage burn inside his chest "tell me Melinda, tell me whatever you want to" he said softly. '_l can't' _she wrote, Jim closed his eyes "I swear, I'll never hurt you like that again Melinda, I'll always be here to listen, to watch over you and protect you..._please_...talk to me" he begged with tears running down his face. "It hurt so much Jim" Melinda sobbed quietly, Jim clenched his jaw and offered his hand to her, she stared at it for a while before lacing her fingers with his "he was yelling" she whispered, "I wouldn't let him....I kept moving...kicking...I screamed...no one was listening" she took a shaky breath and squeezed Jim's hand tightly. "It's okay, you can talk to me honey" he comforted, Melinda nodded "I can" she whispered "he said...he said he'd make me scream, make me...pray for death" she gulped back tears calming down slowly and jumped when Olivia and Christopher walked in slowly, they sat down on the opposite side of the bed to Jim and Chris took Olivia's hand into his lap holding it gently. "Carry on Melinda, they just want to listen too" Jim said gently, Olivia nodded and Melinda closed her eyes, her fingernails were digging lightly into Jim's hand and she was shivering.

_**-"Stop moving!" David yelled, Melinda screamed louder through the tears and tried to push herself away from him but he grabbed her legs and climbed on top of her, pinning her down "NOOO! NO NO NO please....please don't, please....D..d..david PLEASE!" she screamed "too late" he growled before slamming into her-**_

Melinda gagged and Jim stood up quickly to grab a bowl "ssssh, you're okay" he soothed as Melinda was sick, she began sobbing heavily again "he...wanted me to know how it feels...to have no control, to be on my...my knees and begging for..." she trailed off as her stomach churned, her cheeks flushed pink and Jim helped her sit up "it's okay" Olivia said softly as Melinda brought up everything that was in her stomach-which was not much at all. "Water?" Christopher offered, Melinda eyed him nervously and gave a small nod, he smiled gently which relaxed her a little, then opened the bottle of water and held it at the bottom so Melinda could grab it without being forced to touch him, she gave him a tiny smile of thanks and washed her mouth out, Jim gave her a sip of mouthwash from a little bottle and she smiled when she was done.

"I thought that...that maybe he'd hear me crying...and he'd realise that he was hurting the wrong person...realise that he was just torturing a little girl...I hoped that he'd look at me and see that it made no sense to be so cruel. That never happened." Melinda closed her eyes and shuddered, Christopher leaned forward slightly "you don't have to tell us if you don't want to Melinda, no one will be mad if you stop" he whispered, she nodded "I think...I need to talk about it, I feel like it might...tear me apart...if I keep it inside" she replied.

-_**Melinda screamed endlessly as David forced himself on her, he smiled down at her and bit her neck roughly as he got closer to his release "say my name" he whispered in her ear, Melinda shook her head against the tears and kept her eyes clamped shut "Say. My. Name" he growled, Melinda shuddered and sobbed harder "SAY IT!" David yelled giving her a hard back-handed hit across the face. Melinda's mouth opened in shock and she looked up at him "David" she cried, "SAY IT LOUDER" he demanded as he pushed roughly inside of her, Melinda turned her head to avoid his gaze "David" she sobbed louder, "that's it, good girl" he grunted as he gave one last thrust and collapsed on top of Melinda's trembling body-**_

Melinda screamed loudly and grabbed Jim's arm, "sssh" he soothed as she clung onto him and sobbed violently "you're okay baby, sssshhh, you'll be okay" he soothed, "honey, tell us what's wrong" Olivia requested quietly, Melinda ignored her completely and held onto Jim's t-shirt tighter "Mel?" Christopher asked, her breathing hitched and for half a second the crying stopped in fear before she drew in a watery breath and continued "maybe I should go" Christopher whispered, he glanced at Jim before rising from his seat and leaving the room to wait outside, Olivia stood and walked over to Melinda, she gently lay a hand on her shoulder but Melinda screamed again and pushed herself closer to Jim, "okay, Liv, I'll stay with her, maybe you could go find Chris" Jim suggested.

Olivia nodded reluctantly "I'm gonna go pick up the rest of the kids, I'll come back soon honey, is that okay?" she asked, Melinda continued crying into her hands with fistfuls of Jim's shirt held to her face "she'll be okay Liv" Jim whispered, she nodded with tears streaming down her face before glancing at Melinda and turning out the door. "Mel, can I..can I hold you?" Jim asked, Melinda wrapped her arms around his waist and he stroked her hair, "just tell me if I'm hurting you okay?" he whispered before lifting her easily into his arms and laying down on the bed with her on his lap, she curled up in his arms and her head rested on his chest. "Don't let go, _please_ don't let go" she begged softly "never" he whispered in her ear. Melinda cried for hours, eventually whittling down to delicate sniffles as Jim stroked her hair and rubbed her back, occasionally pressing small kisses to the top of her head and whispering 'I love you'

"I...love you too Jim"

Xx leave a review if ya liked it xx you guys looking forward to xmas? If anyone has any ideas for an xmas one-shot that they want me to do, slip it in the review and i'll try to write them all (they don't have to be about Christmas but they do have to be oneshot ideas so I can get through them all) * to be posted on Christmas eve* xx Love you xxxx Lolly xxxx"


	47. Chapter 47

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

"I can't stay here" Melinda whispered as Jim helped her walk back to her bed, she had showered and changed into pyjamas with the help of a nurse and had just finished brushing her teeth "you can't leave" Jim replied, she shook her head with tears in her eyes and rubbed her hand up and down his chest "I'm so sorry", "Mel, no, you...you can't" Jim pleaded, she looked up at him and he stared into her eyes "I don't know _how_ to get through this Jim. It's _not_ like you see in movies or read in books...it's so much harder, everything hurts and it's like...like I can't see anything past it, I don't know where to go, where to run...isn't there anywhere that I can feel safe anymore?" she asked softly.

Jim sat up with her and ran his fingers through the back of her hair "you can be safe here" he whispered as he touched his hand to his chest, over his heart, "and you can be safe here..."Jim leaned forward slowly and pressed his lips to Melinda's in a sweet kiss which made her gasp and pull back "I'm sorry" Jim whispered, clearly annoyed with himself for surprising her like that. "_I'm_ not" she replied quietly, Jim eyed her questioningly and she smiled shyly before pressing herself closer to him "kiss me again" she whispered "are you sure?" Jim asked, Melinda smiled again "I'd grab your face if I could but I can't lift my arms that far" she joked, Jim raised his eyebrows in surprise and lowered his face to hers "what Melinda wants, Melinda gets" he quipped before kissing her passionately, Melinda held onto his arms as they wound around her holding her up "I will _always_ love you" Jim whispered, Melinda opened her mouth to reply but he covered it with his own and kissed her again.

"I have to leave Jim, I just think I need to spend a little time near home, see Lisa, visit my..." she took a deep breath and leaned against him "...mom and dad's grave" she whispered, Jim nodded "I understand, I'll miss you so much baby". "Do you think Chris and Liv will be angry?" she asked, Jim smiled "I think they want what's best for you honey, they would never stop you doing something you wanted to do, they'll be a little sad, but mostly they'll just be glad that you've found something to give you a little happiness back. They love you" Jim said softly, Melinda sighed "and I love them....and I love you, even when I'm gone..." she trailed off sadly "promise me you'll call me every day and every night before you go to bed" Jim whispered against her neck, she turned in his arms with teary eyes and touched his face with a look of such pain that Jim knew exactly what she was saying "Melinda, _no_" he pleaded, "I'm sorry Jim, I think it's for the best, we'd be making everything so much harder if we stay talking to each other all the time...it's better if we make it a clean break...I don't want to hurt you over and over...I don't want to _get_ hurt over and over" she said softly as the tears began to fall. Jim's eyes widened in realisation "you aren't planning to come back" he said softly, he tightened his hold on her and buried his face in her neck "you're leaving me" he whispered, Melinda sobbed softly into his shoulder "I'm sorry" she cried, Jim shook his head "it's my fault, not yours, I understand...I'm not _good_ for you" he said sadly, Melinda cried harder "you're the best thing that ever happened to me Jim, I'm just not...not in a good place right now".

Jim laid back pulling her with him and holding her tightly in his arms "I don't want to let you go" his voice was strained with hurt and Melinda clung to his shirt "you'll be okay Jim, you'll be better off...without me" she whispered, Jim growled lowly in his chest "don't _ever _say that again" he demanded, Melinda closed her eyes against the tears and kissed his chest softly "will you go back to Olive Crest?" Jim asked, Melinda sighed "I'm going to ask for a transfer, I can't be in California...I'll stay there for a little while to get everything figured out, but I'm going to ask them if I can go somewhere else, I was thinking maybe Miami" she said. Jim let out a breath of surprise "Florida" he mumbled, she kissed his chest again "my mom grew up there, I need to be closer to her" Melinda whispered, Jim kissed the top of her head and she yawned "get some rest honey" he whispered.

* * *

"Are you sure it won't bother Melinda, you know, having so many people in the room?" Mitch asked as the family stood anxiously in an elevator on their way up to her floor, "if she gets nervous then we'll take it in turns" Olivia reassured him as the doors opened "are you okay?" Alexis asked Christopher, he had tears in his eyes and was shivering slightly "I'm fine sweetheart" he lied. "Chris..._dad_...don't lie to me" she whispered taking his hand in hers, "I keep remembering..."

_**-Christopher reached forward hesitantly and pressed two fingers into her neck, "she's alive?" he asked himself in a disbelieving whisper as he felt the soft and gentle thrumming of her heart against his trembling fingers. He held his breath nervously, lifted Melinda's arms from the door and pulled her gently into his arms, her head fell back and a strangled sound escaped her throat- almost as if she were screaming underwater- before she jerked slightly, her body shivered fiercely and a crimson waterfall fell from her mouth and down her chin, Christopher shuddered as he pushed her hair back from her face and sat her body up against his-**_

"..I keep seeing her face, her eyes closed...she was so _broken_. Being here, it just reminds me of how close we came to losing Melinda" he said softly as tears ran down his cheeks, Alexis squeezed his hand gently and rubbed the back of it with her thumb "she'll be okay now....we all will" she whispered, Christopher kissed the top of her head and smiled in thanks.

"Ready?" Olivia asked nervously as they approached the door to Melinda's room, everyone nodded and she knocked lightly "Mel?" she called softly, There was a quiet shuffling and the door was opened by a tired looking Jim, his eyes were red rimmed and puffy making it obvious that he'd been crying and his t-shirt had little wet patches on it from Melinda's tears "honey?" Olivia whispered questioningly, she reached up to cup his cheek and he hugged her gently "is she awake?" she asked, Jim shook his head and stood aside so everyone could file in, they all took in Melinda's sleeping form, wrapped tightly in the covers her face was hidden to the side, one side of the bed was empty but tousled where Jim had been. They all sat where they could- Olivia and Christopher on one armchair, Alexis and Holly on another with Mitch perched on the arm and Jim sat back down on his side of the bed.

"How's she doing?" Christopher asked, Jim glanced down at Melinda and rested a hand on her back "she..." she whispered but had to press his lips together to stop the tears "she's leaving" he managed after a few seconds, Olivia's eyes widened "what do you mean?" she asked worriedly, "she wants to talk to you guys about...going home. She doesn't want to be here anymore, she wants to go back to California for a little while to be closer to her parents and then she's planning to ask for a transfer, maybe even as far as Miami" he said softly, "but she can't, right? I mean, she can't just _go_" Holly cried, Jim nodded "she can".

"We have to do what's best for Melinda, if she feels like she needs to leave, we have to let her. We haven't exactly been good parents..." Olivia trailed off hopelessly, Jim shook his head "she loves you, and she doesn't blame you for anything, but she just needs some time...alone" he whispered, everyone watched him as he rubbed Melinda's back soothingly "are you going with her?" Holly asked gently, Jim closed his eyes and took a deep breath "no". "It's okay, I'm sure she'll call you every day and text you a million times, and she'll visit" she tried to reassure him "she won't, she's not just leaving, she's leaving _me_" he said softly, eyes downcast, Olivia gave a sharp intake of breath "honey, are you okay?" she asked, he shook his head "that doesn't matter right now, all that matters is.." he brushed Melinda's hair off her cheek as a tear rolled onto his own "...Melinda" he finished quietly.

"Do you know when...?"Chris asked sadly, Jim shook his head "maybe she'll change her mind" Holly whispered, Jim shook his head "I tried". Melinda whimpered quietly in her sleep and Jim resumed rubbing her back

-_**Melinda cried hopelessly as David laughed at her "I think we should end this soon, you're looking a little beaten" he joked-**_

Melinda shivered and everyone stiffened tensely "bad dream?" Christopher asked more to himself than anyone else, Jim nodded "probably, she hasn't slept without them since...it happened" he sighed.

_**-Melinda sobbed against the concrete floor as David dragged her limp body towards him "do you know Jim's number by heart?" he asked as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, Melinda gave a nervous nod and he handed it to her "I want you to dial the number, when he answers I want you to tell him to go up to his room without telling anyone who's calling, when he's in his room I want you to say goodbye to him and hand me the phone. I'm going to give him some instructions and if you so much as shake your head I will kill you right now. Have I made myself clear?" he asked, Melinda nodded weakly and dialled Jim's number with bloody fingers, he answered on the first ring "J...Jim, go up to our room and dd..'t tell anyone it's me" she said shakily as blood poured from her mouth.-**_

"Don't..please..._please don't let me die here"_ Melinda pleaded in her sleep, Holly covered her mouth and buried her face in Alexis' shoulder, Mitch stroked her hair "ssh, it's alright baby" he soothed, "no, no it isn't, she'll never be okay again" Holly cried, he wrapped his arms around both her and his sister as they sobbed quietly, "don't leave me" Melinda whispered softly, Jim pressed a kiss to her hair and she jolted awake with a gasp "sssh, you're okay" he soothed, Melinda's face crumpled and her eyes filled quickly, before Jim could even think, he had his arms wrapped around her as she sobbed into his chest "Mel..." Olivia whispered, Melinda ignored the call and held Jim tighter "it was just a dream baby" Christopher said quietly as he stood, Melinda flinched away from him but he didn't move away, sitting on the edge of her bed next to Jim he took her hand in his and kissed it softly "you're okay honey" he whispered against her skin.

"I love you" Olivia said quietly, "we all do" Alexis added, Melinda's sobs calmed slightly and she was able to take a deep breath as Jim rocked her slowly "Jim told us...that you want to go...".

* * *

Sorry it's shorter than usual but I'm kinda swamped with coursework right now!!! lol Sad to say that HWC will be coming to an end very soon, but no fear...there will be a sequel called 'BitterSweet' Please leave a review xx and don't forget what I said before: if you have any ideas for a one-shot you'd like me to write, I'll do it over xmas break and post it on xmas morning (LA time) sorry English people it will be afternoon for you lol.....Lolly x


	48. Chapter 48

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

**Thank you for all the reviews for last few chapters xxx Love you guys xx**

**Ps. This chapter focuses on Melinda and Christopher's relationship because I think it's special and I want to show that, this was really sad to write xxx**

Melinda glanced up at Olivia's teary eyes and nodded "are you sure?" Christopher asked softly, Melinda nodded again "sweetheart, you understand that would mean signing release forms to say that we're not your carers anymore, we wouldn't legally be able to look after you anymore" he pressed. Melinda wiped tears from her sallow cheeks and nodded again "right then, well...I guess that's it. I'll make arrangements in the morning" he said coldly, not intentionally being mean, but he sounded detached and unfriendly, Melinda couldn't fight the new wave of tears that flooded her eyes and Jim kissed the top of her head, Olivia glared at Christopher and shot Melinda an apologetic smile "sweetheart, we only want what's best for you, so if you feel like you're ready to go, we won't stop you, and we'll always be here for you...but make sure you think it through, because it can't be undone once you make it official" she said softly, Melinda nodded slowly and took a deep breath "we'll still talk though, right?" Holly whispered, Melinda's eyes welled up and she turned away "I think we should talk about something else" Jim said softly.

"The..uh..doctor said that you could um...go home...I mean...to our house in the morning if you're feeling up to it, since everything went well...they said you should be fine now. That's good, right?" Alexis tried, Melinda nodded distantly and glanced around the room, her eyes locked on Christopher's and she sighed softly "Melinda, I'm sorry...I just..can we talk...alone?" Christopher asked, she glanced at Jim nervously before nodding "Jim, are you staying here tonight?" he asked, Jim looked down at Melinda in his arms and nodded before kissing her head softly "do you need us to stay too? Or would you rather we came back in the morning?" Melinda cuddled closer to Jim and Olivia smiled "we'll be back before 9;00 to pick you up sweetheart, we'll bring you some clean clothes too", "don't worry about that, I packed Melinda a bag before we left, she has clothes for tomorrow" Jim said, Olivia smiled "well done sweety, okay....Melinda?....can I have a hug?" she asked gently, Melinda leaned out of Jim's embrace and winced as her ribs ached "careful" Olivia whispered before wrapping her arms gingerly around her and kissing her neck "I love you honey, I'll see you in the morning, try to get a good night's sleep, we can talk more about you...leaving...tomorrow".

Everyone took turns in hugging Melinda and leaving until it was just her, Mitch and Jim in the room "Melinda, I know we never really got a chance to know each other that well, but you're my sister..and I love you, and you leaving...it won't change that" Mitch sais honestly, Melinda looked up at him with tears in her eyes and surprised everyone...she smiled. A real smile that reached her glistening eyes and warmed her face, she touched a hand over her own heart before holding her arms out slightly to invite him for a hug, "I'll see you in the morning" he whispered in her ear as he held her gently before kissing her cheek and leaving. "I'll uh...should I wait outside?" Jim asked, Melinda looked questioningly at Christopher and he smiled "if it's okay with Mel" he replied, she nodded and Jim lifted her carefully off of his lap and set her back on the bed "I'm just outside if you need me" he whispered before leaving.

"Melinda, I just wanted to say...I..I just- God, this is even harder than I thought!" he said with an exasperated sigh, Melinda watched intently as he closed his eyes and tried to think of the right words to say. "When I came to California.." he began "I was shooting a film in Bev. I didn't plan....I had no intention of going to Olive Crest when I got there, but I was talking to one of my friends and he talked about how he and his wife had just adopted a little boy, Jonathan, he was 4 and a half years old, they showed me pictures of him and told me how well he was doing...-Oh God!...Melinda?" he called anxiously, her face had gone blank and he knew she was having a flashback

-"_**This will be your room, it's not too purple I hope" Lisa said biting her lip, Melinda stayed silent but gave a slight shake of her head "okay, well, I'll give you a little while to get settled and then I'll pick you up for dinner, everyone eats down at the hall at 7:00, are you okay to be up here alone?" she asked softly, Melinda nodded and turned away from her to look around the room, as she turned in a small circle she took in the butterflies painted on one wall, the glittery painted walls that sparkled as light from the pink desk lamp shone, the light pink carpet that looked as though it had never been walked on, the clean flowery scent that gently floated through the air....and the little boy. **_

_**Melinda jumped in surprise as she turned back to find a tiny boy standing in her doorway, he had dark brown curls with natural highlights, radiant caramel skin, light hazel eyes and only his front teeth, he couldn't have been much more than 3 years old. "Hi" he chirped in his young voice, Melinda wiped the tears from her face and gave a small wave "my mama go way, you mama go way too?" he asked sweetly, Melinda nodded slightly, he was wearing a stripy blue and green t-shirt with a cute pair of tiny jeans and baby Nike sneakers. "Wha you name?" he asked, she took a deep breath and gave him a smile "Melinda" she answered "Jonathan...you pwetty" he said, "thank you sweety, you're gorgeous" she said.**_

_**Melinda walked towards him and opened her arms "you're not meant to be up here" she mumbled as she picked him up, just then a frantic looking woman ran past her room yelling "Jonathan! Sweety, are you up here?" Melinda stepped out of her room and the woman whipped around "baby! There you are sweety, what did we tell you, no running away in storytime" she scolded softly, he rested his head on Melinda's shoulder and she shuffled uncertainly "Minda" he squealed nodding his head, "oh my god!" the woman yelled "he spoke, he spoke to you...how did you do that?...we've been trying for days...he stopped talking and then..we couldn't make him start again...he SPOKE to you!" she said excitedly, Melinda gave her a nervous smile and patted Jonathan's back "you made a friend Jonny" the woman cooed holding out her arms to him "Minda! He yelled clinging to her tighter, "oh I see, you have a new girl now!" she joked "okay, well, Melinda would you mind coming downstairs with him?" she asked, Melinda eyed her nervously before shaking her head and following. As they reached the bottom of the stairs Melinda tried to lift Jonathan out of her arms but he wouldn't let go...he wouldn't let go-**_

"He wouldn't let go" Melinda mumbled as she blinked a few times, "who sweety? Who wouldn't let go?" Chris asked frantically "Jonathan" she whispered, "you knew him?" he asked in shock, Melinda nodded but kept silent and Christopher knew that her side of the conversation was over. "Well, as I was saying...they told me about Olive Crest and I told them that my wife and I were guardians to five kids already but I said I'd love to check it out, meet some of the kids and stuff. I went down there the next day and held the new babies, played with the toddlers, had lunch with the teens, it was amazing, everyone there was so kind and loving they really cared about the kids, I could tell. They showed me the book with each kid and their bio, I saw a picture of you and it confused me a little, I asked them why you hadn't been around, if you'd maybe been adopted already but they said no, They told me that you didn't like eating with everyone else so you stayed up your room, they told me that you didn't talk and were very reserved. There was something about your picture, those eyes...you looked so hurt, I could feel it, I told them I wanted to see you but they refused.."

Melinda looked at him questioningly knowing that she had an interview with him before he left back for New York.

"..I know what you're thinking...we _did_ mee_t._ I told them that I was interesting in looking after another child and so they told me everything they knew about you and arranged an interview. I was so nervous, I just kept thinking to myself "what if she hates you? What if she's afraid of you? What if she says she doesn't want to stay with you?" they made that room all comfortable, pillows everywhere and those huge beanbags, I sat and waited on the couch while they went to get you...they had told me you were 16 and so I guess I was expecting someone a little...bigger..you were so small and fragile looking. You walked in holding Lisa's hand, hanging behind a little and you looked so terrified of me...I remember that moment so well... I felt like such a horrible person for putting you through that, my own curiosity was causing you distress and that's the exact opposite of what I wanted. But you came in nonetheless and listened to my nervous rambling...I told you everything I could think of about Lisa and I and the kids, you probably thought I was crazy."

Christopher chuckled and Melinda smiled shuffling across so he could sit on the bed, he sat beside her and Melinda rested her head on his shoulder "I left that day knowing that I had to know you, I wanted to be the one to make you better, to give you a loving home and family and everything else you needed, so I asked Olivia and she...wow, she was ecstatic, she said yes straight away and told me she would start decorating bedrooms that night, she knew that John would be leaving soon and the others were all getting older too... Olive Crest were delighted, a little apprehensive about how you might react, but they agreed that it would be in your best interest to come and live with us. The next two weeks were filled with preparing the kids, the house, the rooms, it was a wonderful excuse for the girls to go shopping every day I guess. I wondered...about Jim, I was scared that he might not deal with it too well since it took him such a long time to settle in with us, he of course wouldn't speak to anyone about it but Mitch told us one day that he had said it would be cool to have a little sister...I guess he wasn't quite expecting for you mean what you do to him. I was so excited when the day came, I couldn't concentrate at work at all, I just kept thinking about your little face and how much I'd love to see a smile on it..."

Melinda looked up as she felt something tap her shoulder, she found that Christopher had tears running down his sun-kissed cheeks and he quickly scrubbed at them with the back of his hand. "I came home and you were standing in the middle of the lounge, I couldn't believe it...you were actually _there,_ I was over excited I suppose, I'm so sorry for scaring you that day honey, I shouldn't have rushed to you like that, but when you spoke to me at the dinner table, oh it warmed my heart to know that you had forgiven me so willingly, so readily. And then it happened..you _smiled..._at_ me_, I knew right then that if I died, I'd die a happy man Melinda, that was the best gift I could ever ask for. I know that you want to leave...and I guess I have to support that, but when a child moves away from home...they're still your child, it's the same for you Melinda, just because I wasn't there when you were born or you started school or first rode a bike...doesn't mean I don't love you as much as any other father would, and I swear to you, even when the papers are signed and you move on..._**I**_ never will, you'll always be in my heart, you'll always be my little girl, and I hope that one day you'll come back and show us that you made the right choice, that you're happy and healthy. I'll always love you Melinda...._always_."


	49. Chapter 49

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

"No...please...don't..I'm scared" Melinda whimpered in her sleep, Jim rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked down at his watch-_3:01am_- he ran his hands through his hair and pulled Melinda tighter against him "I'm...so scared...d..'t let him...don't, make him stop" she whispered, Jim clenched his jaw angrily at what he knew she was dreaming about. "He's here...no...please..he's _hurting_ me" with a gasp Melinda sat bolt upright, her chest heaved up and down with her heavy breaths of panic and her eyes were wide and feverish. "You're okay Melinda, you'll be okay" Jim whispered as he pulled her back down "I need to talk" Melinda said quietly, "are you sure you're ready?" Jim asked worriedly, she nodded "I have to" she whispered.

Jim cupped her face with his hands and cradled it gently "I'll listen" he whispered before kissing her, "they put me in the trunk of their car Jim, they were in a hurry because they knew the police would trace our phone call to the house, they called someone and arranged to have a car waiting for us so we could swap. While we were waiting I got sick, he kept taunting me...threatening me, I was terrified. When the other car got there, J.. injected me with something and pushed me back into the trunk, I couldn't feel my arms and legs, I couldn't think straight, and eventually I passed out I guess. I only woke up because he was so...rough, David pulled me out of the trunk, I have no idea how long I was out but it was the next day and it was already dark. That warehouse, it looked like something out of a horror movie, I thought 'If I go in there, there's no way I'm coming out' it was raining...pouring, I thought about how my dad used to let me splash in puddles when I was a kid, about how I fell asleep on the balcony in the rain that night and you brought me inside, I prayed that it wouldn't be the last time I ever saw the rain. It's funny, the things you think you'll miss so much when you didn't even know you really cared about them, it's weird, I kept thinking about every decision I'd ever made, wondering if my life was as good as it could have been, if I'd made the most of everything I had"

Melinda's chest began to hurt and she adjusted herself so she was laying flat on her back, Jim shuffled onto his side and draped his arm over her stomach "I can't imagine...it must have been so hard...to think that..that it could be the end" Jim whispered, "It was at first I guess, but after a while I realised that...death....death would be a gift in comparison to what I knew they were going to do, we got inside and I was feeling so dizzy, I needed the sugar shot, I asked him for help, David...he laughed Jim, he laughed at me. I guess I realised that he really didn't care at all, he had no conscience, David did it again...he made me...he held me down" Melinda began to cry and Jim's heart broke for her "sssh, it's okay, you can stop if you want to" he said softly, Melinda took a deep breath "I cried myself to sleep after a while, what else could I do, there was no way out, everything in there was gray, all different shades of gray, I thought I might go crazy after a while of staring at the same four walls. I've never really been a religious person, I believe in God I guess, but I don't go to church or anything, but I prayed...I prayed every second that I was awake that either I would die before they could hurt me again, or that someone would find me and bring me home. I guess God wasn't listening either" she added the last part in a sad whisper.

"I didn't even know what State we were in, what town. David and Joe must have gone out drinking, when they came back David had this bottle of Vodka, he was screaming at me about what I had done to him and what he was going to do to _me_, I heard this smash and when I looked up he was holding the top of the bo-" Melinda's voice hitched and the tears started again, Jim just waited silently rubbing circles on the back of her hand as she calmed down "he hit me with it, it was so sharp...I just remember the shock, I couldn't believe that he had done it, the glass slashed through my skin so easily, the pain...oh God, the pain. I couldn't think, I just screamed over and over and _over_. That night they took me to the bathroom and I tried to run, they left me in there and I couldn't see anyone when I came out, the elevator was just down the hall...I thought I could make it...I was wrong. I got the doors open and I was just stepping in when he caught me...he was so _furious, _he just kept shaking and shaking me, he was holding my shoulders...I couldn't see anymore, everything was going dark. He threw me....he threw me into a wall, it was like I didn't weigh anything, just one sweep of his arm and I was gone, he was kicking, I remember at that moment trying to think of what I did wrong, I must have done _something_ to deserve it, no one would let that happen to someone good, so I figured I must have done something bad enough to deserve it. He started slamming my head into the floor, it was bare concrete. I could feel myself slipping away and I was so..._happy_, I thought it would finally be over, I hoped I wouldn't wake up again, I lost hope completely. I remember, just before I passed out, I asked him to do it, to kill me."

Jim shuddered and kissed the top of her head as she took a deep breath. "Water?" he offered, Melinda nodded "please" she answered quietly, Jim helped her to sit up wincing when she did "sorry" he mumbled as he propped her up against the pillows "it's just a little sore still" she replied taking the bottle of water that he was holding out for her, after taking a few sips Melinda set it down and ran her hands through her hair.

"It was...Sunday, I guess, when I next woke up, God I had such a headache, I felt sick, I was tired and bruised, I just remember there was blood _everywhere_, I couldn't even remember what had happened, there were cuts I didn't remember getting, bruises I didn't remember happening. At one point this siren went past, I thanked God, I was finally being saved, but it went straight past. That's when David made me call you.." she trailed off, Jim took her hand in his and nodded "I remember, God, I was so glad to hear your voice, but you sounded so weak, so broken, it made me sick to know what you were going through, I felt like my hands were tied, so helpless" he sighed and rested his chin on Melinda's head.

"After the phone call he was angry, I don't know why but he was even worse than before, he just kept hitting, kicking, pushing...he cut me. I was going in and out of consciousness I guess, I don't remember all of it, just flashes, bits and pieces of my own personal horror movie. I had some kind of a seizure and it freaked him out, I hadn't eaten in days, I hadn't taken my meds, after that, I don't remember anything until I woke up Wednesday night, what day is it today?" she asked confusedly, Jim chuckled "Wednesday. You were in hospital until Friday when you discharged yourself, you came back here on Sunday, I can't believe you've already been home for a week, it doesn't seem that long to me, I feel like I just got you back" he whispered, Melinda shifted uncomfortably "but you get that I'm _not_ staying, right? I mean...you do understand?" she asked, he sighed "I guess I was hoping you would feel better and change your mind, that's not gonna happen?" he asked sadly "I need to spend some time figuring things out, I need to get away from here, go back home and say goodbye properly, then head somewhere new, somewhere nobody knows what happened, who I am, I'll go back to school I guess, maybe even start performing again, I miss dance so much...and singing, I dream of a day when I can just get up on a stage and not feel like hiding away...when I can stand up proud and show everyone what I want to do" she said surely.

Jim shook his head "how are we gonna say goodbye?" he whispered, "we're going to be okay Jim, you'll find happiness without me, you'll meet someone and fall in love and have a family...everything you ever wanted" she said softly, Jim had tears rolling fast down his cheeks as he shook his head "all I ever wanted is you Melinda, no one else, _nothing_ else. You can't ask me to forget, you can leave and take away the pictures and the phone calls and the girl...but you can't take away the memories. It just doesn't work that way" he insisted, Melinda shook her head "I'm sorry Jim, I don't want to hurt you, but I can't think of any other way for this to work, I can't _be_ a girlfriend right now, I'm terrible at it, I depend on you too much, I shut you out, I won't talk to you, sometimes I won't even let you touch me, is that really what you want? Can you honestly say that when you picture your ideal girlfriend, those are the things that come to mind?" she asked, Jim rolled his eyes "what comes to mind is _you_ Melinda, I love you, I like that you need me, it makes me so happy that I'm the one you lean on, I don't mind the silence, sometimes I don't wanna talk either, I would never hold those things against you Melinda because I know _why_ you are the way you are, you're not a terrible girlfriend, you're the best thing that ever happened to me and if I lose you...it's like losing the best part of myself" he said quietly.

"I love you Jim, but I'm losing myself a little more every second, I was never like this, I was never a shy, quiet, introverted person who had to have people looking out for her 24/7. I was loud and giggly and fun and independent, I had so many friends and I was smiling all the time, I was so lazy that sometimes I wouldn't even wake up until lunch time, now I can't sleep past 4:00am at the latest, this is not right Jim, I'm_ sick_, not just my body, it's my mind too, I'm so _tired_ of trying to be okay, I just need to be alone, no pressure, no expectations, just me. I'm sorry that I'm hurting you, I truly an, and I'll never forgive myself, but I can't just forget what happened Jim, because it happened to _me_, I was _there_ alone and I need to _deal_ with it alone. I don't expect you to understand, but I want you to believe me when I say that it's better for both of us, I'm not in the right place to deal with anything other than trying to live through each day at the moment. I love you, I'll never _stop_ loving you, but I can't...I just can't" she sobbed.

Jim pulled her gently into his arms and held her gently "I'll miss you so much" he whispered, Melinda looked up at him "me too" she replied, Melinda kissed his chin to make him lower his head before she kissed him properly, they hadn't kissed that way since they had been on holiday at the cabin, on Melinda's birthday. Jim could feel Melinda's tears between them and it only added to his pain "I know I have to let you do this, I know" he whispered against her lips, "thank you Jim, you saved me from the silence, from _them, _but most importantly...you saved me from myself" she whispered back, Jim nodded "and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, anything to keep you safe Melinda" he tangled his fingers into her hair and kissed her deeply setting her heart fluttering and her breath hitched. Melinda grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pressed herself to him as close as she could without hurting herself "we'll be together again one day Melinda, I won't let you slip away forever" Jim mumbled, she smiled against him "I'll hold you to that" she whispered back.

Hey yall hope you're loving xmas break as much as I am, given me lots of writing time LOL xxxx Please slip me a review if you liked it xx love you guys, you're what keeps me writing xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	50. Chapter 50 Finale

**I do not own any of the music, products or movies mentioned in this fic and as much as I wish I did.........I don't own GhostWhisperer or any of its characters, I do however, own those characters and storylines which appear in this fanfic, but not in the show. No copyright infringement intended!**

_**This is it guys! I just wanna take some time to say thank you SO much to everyone who has stuck with HWC from beginning to end, your reviews inspired me to write a story which I've absolutely loved doing, and I hope you've loved reading. I know that it's a sad ending, I KNOW! Okay? LOL But it's not all sad, I want everyone to have a chance to heal by themselves otherwise they'll never work properly together, there will be a sequel called 'BitterSweet' which I'll begin posting soon, it won't be anywhere near as long as HWC LOL 50 frickin chapters dudes! I'm so stoked!!! Yay! Enjoy xx and please leave a final review!!! BTW this is VERY long compared to the rest because I hate rushed endings, I want to do this proplerly x I'm really not feeling great so please don't be too harsh lol x Happy New Year, I hope it brings you everything you dream of xxx**_

Melinda was awoken again at 10:00am by Olivia "how are you feeling this morning?" she asked, Melinda turned in the uncomfortable hospital bed and just gave a small nod, Olivia smiled "I'm glad sweety" she said softly, "we've packed up your stuff already, you just need to get yourself dressed and we can head out, don't worry about having a shower here, you can do that at home, we'll be there soon" she said, Melinda sat up slowly noticing that her chest was only a tiny ache now, her eyes tiredly for Jim but couldn't find him, "Jim's carrying your stuff down to the car, did you sleep alright?" she asked, Melinda grimaced.

"I'll miss you" she whispered, Olivia's gaze dropped to the ground "you...you still want to go" she said softly, Melinda nodded "I'm sorry Olivia, and I'm so grateful for everything you guys have done for me, I couldn't have gotten this far without you, but I need to figure this out alone, I feel like I've disappeared and I don't know when exactly it happened, everything I liked about myself is gone, I have to try to get that back, and I don't think I can find it here. I want to go back home for a little while, I'd like to say goodbye to my parents properly, then I want to start over, away from all the bad memories, you know?" she said while brushing her hair.

"Christopher spoke to Lisa last night Melinda, there's a problem, they don't have any available places in any children's homes for over 16's, right now, there's nowhere to go" she said softly, Melinda sighed "I'll live on campus if I go back to school, until then I'll find somewhere" she said, Olivia nodded "are you sure about this honey?" she asked, Melinda smiled "it makes me feel a little better, having hope that this might help, I'm searching for something I guess, I just don't know what it is yet" she said. "I'm gonna miss you so much, I liked not being the shortest member of the family" Olivia joked, Melinda shook her head "you still won't, I'm not leaving the family, just leaving home, I'll always consider you guys parents to me, and brothers and sisters, this isn't gonna change that" Melinda said softly, Olivia reached out and Melinda hugged her as tightly as she could "I love you" she whispered, Olivia smiled against her tears "I love you too baby" she replied "Come on then sweety, let's get going".

_**TWO HOURS LATER**_

Melinda was stepping out of her bath tub, the bandages had been taken off temporarily while she bathed and other than the bruises on her chest, she looked fine, so much better than the last time she had seen herself. Melinda had put on a little more weight and although much too small still, she looked a little less gaunt and her face had a radiant glow to it after a few days of rest and regular meals, she dried off quickly chuckling as her long wet hair tickled her back. "Mel?" came Jim's voice "naked!" she replied, the door opened and he poked his head through "was that an invitation or a 'get out'?" he asked hopefully, "come in" she giggled, he came in and eyed her towel "that's cheating" he complained, Melinda laughed and sat at her dressing table to dry her hair "you look great, you know" Jim said softly "thank you, I guess 'night of the living dead' isn't a great look for me after all" she joked, Jim gave her a small smile "you seem happy" he whispered, "I'm happy to be here, to be alive, to be well, to be free...just happy" she replied with a smile "I find that focusing on the positives helps me not to break down in tears every five minutes, but give me about an hour and I'm sure I'll be an emotional wreck again" she jabbed at herself, Jim chuckled "I'll set the timer and have a box of tissues waiting" he replied.

"So, Livvy told me that you're planning to live alone" Jim said, Melinda nodded "it's my only option right now, there's nowhere else for me to go" she said with a sigh, Melinda turned on the hairdryer and blew her hair out into soft waves quickly as Jim watched, "it looks beautiful" Jim whispered, Melinda smiled "are you okay?" she asked, he nodded "just scared I guess, when do you plan on...leaving?" he asked sadly, Melinda sighed "as soon as I can get my stuff packed up" she replied "but that will only be a couple of days!" Jim said in shock, Melinda looked down at the floor "I know" she replied quietly, "Christopher has the papers, Lisa faxed them over, she wants to see you when you get there, she told Christopher that since you won't officially be in care, it's not against any laws for you to stay with her for a while, she was hoping you might want to stay there while you're in California" Jim told her, Melinda smiled "you know, when I was at Olive Crest, I used to wish that Lisa would adopt me, I had this dream of her turning up one day and telling me to get my things because I was going to stay with her, I knew it couldn't happen, it's against the rules, but you can't blame a girl for dreaming, right?"

Jim watched as Melinda disappeared into her closet and he listened to the wardrobe door sliding smoothly, he walked towards it and paused in the doorway, Melinda was staring at herself in the mirror, only wearing panties and a bra, purple lace that offset her pale skin beautifully "you okay?" he asked, Melinda nodded slowly "I guess, I just...the scars will always be there, they're small and easily covered, but I'll always know..." she whispered, Jim walked up behind her and she could smell his shower gel and shampoo which made her smile a little "you're perfect Melinda" he whispered, she shook her head in protest but he kissed her neck and nodded into it "perfect" he whispered again. Jim reached out for the t-shirt she had picked out a bright pink one that Said 'Victoria's Secret' on it in italic black script, he pulled it over Melinda's head and she pushed her arms through it slowly to avoid the ache in her chest, Jim then helped her step into a pair of shorts which were now too big for her and so sat low on her hips.

"Will you eat dinner?" Jim asked worriedly "no, _we_ will" Melinda replied, Jim smiled "do you promise me that you're gonna look after yourself when you're away? You won't stop eating or taking your meds?" he asked seriously, Melinda nodded "this is all about getting better, in every way" she agreed. "You ready?" he asked "sure", they had already been greeted by everyone with hugs and kisses which Melinda had happily accepted and returned but Melinda knew that everyone was waiting for her to come back downstairs so that they could talk properly.

"How does spaghetti sound?" Olivia asked as they hit the bottom of the stairs, Melinda smiled "delicious" she replied quietly, "I'm so _hungry" _she sighed, Jim chuckled and poked her stomach "you've got a full year of eating to catch up on" he said with a smile, Melinda giggled "I'll try not to do it all at once" she joked. "Someone's happy" Olivia noted with raised eyebrows, Melinda nodded "I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, and although I know it'll be awful...I really want to be able to say goodbye to...my mom and dad properly, I never had a chance before" she whispered. "We understand" Olivia replied gently, "will you tell your old friends that you're back?" Alexis asked from the kitchen, Melinda shook her head "I don't want them to...see me like this" she said with her eyes downcast "but maybe someday, when I'm a little more _me_ again, I miss them".

"What about school, will you go back?" Mitch asked, Melinda nodded "I'll find a college, live on campus, try to get my grades up again", "dinner's ready" Christopher announced as he finished dishing it up, "will you sit in the dining room with us? Or would you like to eat upstairs?" Olivia asked, Melinda glanced at Jim "down here's fine" she said with a nervous smile, they all sat around the table and the mood changed noticeably, everyone was nervous, of how Melinda would react to eating dinner with them, of how the conversation at some point would turn into an early goodbye, each sad about losing a sister, daughter, friend, and soul-mate. That's how Jim saw Melinda...she was his soul-mate.

"That was really nice" Melinda said with a smile as she finished, she had eaten almost all of her dinner which had made everyone feel a little easier, Jim kissed her head "well done" he whispered, "right, well, Melinda...we have your papers, all you need to do is sign and take them with you when you go home, we'll have your car brought over for you, you _have_ to call us, it's not optional. Do you understand?" Olivia asked fiercely, Melinda gave a nervous glance in Jim's direction feeling her heart break at his pleading gaze "Melinda? You will call us at least once a week to let us know how you're doing, I will be speaking to Lisa every day that you're in California, and you _must _let us know where you go afterwards, you may need to do this alone, but you're still only a child and I can't have you wandering the earth by yourself" she insisted, Melinda couldn't help but smile at her motherly panic "promise" she agreed, Jim seemed to let out a long breath he had been holding.

"Right, everyone is going to help Melinda pack, if you're doing this, we're doing it together" Olivia said with a sincere smile "are you sure don't want to wait a few weeks?" Mitch asked hopefully, Melinda smiled "I'm ready". "Let's go then" said Christopher, everyone traipsed upstairs grudgingly "you _have_ to come and visit" Holly insisted, "maybe someday I will" Melinda replied gently, "girls, you can make a start on clothes, boys you can pack up any other stuff, Melinda, are you sure you want to do this so soon?" he asked, Melinda nodded. "I'll book...your flight" he said with a sad sigh, they reached Melinda's room and everyone got to work. Jim captured Melinda's hand and pulled her into his arms "I love you Melinda, please.._please don't do this_" he whispered in her ear, Melinda's face crumpled and she leaned into him "I love you too...and I'm sorry Jim, but I have to go" she replied "I_ have _to".

_**24 hours later**_

Melinda's flight was booked for 5:00am the next morning and her possessions had all been taken in a removal truck except for the things she had in her suitcases. Melinda had signed up for a full programme at the Metropolitan Arts Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, She would be living on campus and studying Literary arts, Performing Arts- Music, Dance, Drama, and a night course in Classical Piano. Lisa had arranged to pick her up from the airport drive her to the school so she could unpack everything and tour the campus before she would go and stay with Lisa for the two weeks before school started. Being in Phoenix meant that she would be near enough to home that she could see Lisa whenever she wanted, and visit her parent's graves as often as she could.

Everyone had exchanged long tearful goodbyes with Melinda, presenting her with gifts and hugs and kisses, they had all disappeared over the course of the evening to give her and Jim some time alone. At 6:00pm Melinda was just finished getting changed after a long soak in the tub, wearing a pair of black high-waisted skinny jeans over a satin purple camisole with a lace neckline, she applied some light make up and straightened her long hair ready for the next day "I can do this" she whispered to herself as she glanced around the bare looking room, "I can do this" she repeated as though she were trying to convince herself, a quiet sob escaped her throat and Melinda pressed a hand to her mouth.

Tears began rolling fast down her cheeks and she couldn't help but break down as her shoulders shook with her cries, "it's so hard" Jim whispered as he appeared beside her, she continued crying into her hands until Jim pulled her easily into his arms and carried her to his own room, "you'll stay in here tonight?" he asked hopefully, Melinda nodded into his chest and let him lay her down gently on his bed "I thought, after my parents died, that I would never be happy again. You proved me wrong Melinda, you've made me so happy, just thinking about you can put a smile on my face, so thank you, because you saved me too Melinda" Jim whispered, Melinda cried even harder and lay her head on his chest "I love you" Jim said with a kiss to the top her head, Melinda couldn't bring herself to speak and so just touched her hand to his chest knowing he would understand.

It took a long time for Melinda to calm down but eventually her sobbing slowed to occasional sniffles, she sat on her knees at Jim side and pulled the ring chain over her head and slid the ring off of it, kissing it quickly she slid it onto her ring finger and held her hand out to Jim "maybe we don't have to end this" Jim whispered as he traced the design on the ring, Melinda met his gaze and he smiled "you can do your semester at college and then I'll come find you, I'll just turn up on your doorstep with a bunch of roses and pray that you haven't moved on" he whispered, Melinda shook her head "I don't think I ever will" she replied quietly, "then _why_ Melinda? Why are you doing this to us?" he asked brokenly, "don't make this harder than is already is Jim, just let me go, and one day you'll be okay again, I promise" she insisted. "Can we go somewhere?" Jim asked a few seconds later, Melinda nodded and took the hand that he held out for her, Jim put on his sneakers and Melinda grabbed a pair of black and white converse from her suitcase, "where?" she whispered. Jim turned around and held her face between his hands kissing her softly "where we were happy" he replied sadly.

Jim pulled his jacket on and gave Melinda a huge sweater that drowned her petite frame, he grabbed a huge blanket and she followed him out of the house and through the woods knowing where they were going, the sun was just setting and the sky was a perfect palette of blues, pinks and purples. They walked until they could hear the sound of water running, Jim led Melinda the last few steps until they were facing the stream "remember the times we had here, the times you used to laugh...we had fun..._together_" Jim whispered, he spread the blanket out on the warm grass and lay down, Melinda lay right on top him and he chuckled "will you ever forgive me?" Jim asked, Melinda shook her head "I never blamed you in the first place Jim, _never_. This wasn't your fault, you couldn't have known what would happen that night Jim, I don't feel like anything that happened was because of you, stop beating yourself up, I'm alive, I'm okay now, I'll be better one day" she said sincerely. Jim nodded "I guess, I just feel like...like I made this happen, I'm the reason you're leaving. Just please Melinda, promise me that you'll take good care of yourself, that you'll try your hardest to be happy again, and that you'll try your hardest to come back to me...because I can't lose you for good Melinda, I just can't" he insisted, "I promise you Jim, we'll be okay" she replied, "no. No, Melinda, promise me that we'll be together" he pleaded, Melinda gazed into his eyes for a second before nodded "we will Jim, I promise, we'll be together again" she said sincerely.

They lay there until the sun had completely disappeared and the air became chilly "we better get back, you shouldn't be out here in the cold" Jim whispered, Melinda didn't reply and he couldn't help the way his heart raced in panic thinking of the night they found her, her face bloodied, her body bruised, her eyes closed- he shook the horror from his mind and told himself to remember that she was okay, she had only fallen asleep, Jim gently lifted her off of him and wrapped her in the blanket before picking her up and walking quickly back to the house. "Jim" she whispered in her half awakened state "I'm here baby" he replied gently "I love you" she whispered before her breathing evened out and he knew she had gone back to sleep.

Jim balanced her carefully in his arms while opening the front door, Olivia's head whipped around and her face was a picture of panic as she looked at Melinda, "she just fell asleep Livvy, don't worry" Jim whispered, Olivia clamped a hand over her chest and let out a breath of relief "how's she doing?" she asked, Jim smiled "she seems a little happier, knowing that she's going to near home brings her peace, I can't fight that" he whispered, Olivia smiled "we'll all miss her Jim, but we'll have her back here someday, we won't let her slip away that easy" she said with a smile which Jim returned. "Goodnight Olivia" he said softly, "goodnight darling, is she staying with you?" Olivia asked, Jim nodded with tears in his eyes "last night together...this hurts" he said with a nod before turning up the stairs and heading into his room, glancing at the clock he noted it was only after 8:00pm. Melinda reached out for him in her sleep as he lay her down and Jim kissed her head, he pulled her shoes off and kicked off his own before heading onto her room to get some pyjamas, he went towards the closet and froze when he remembered that it was empty, slowly he turned to the open suitcase on her bed and smiled at what was on top of it, she had a stack of photographs, all of which he had copies of too, all of the best times they had shared, he picked up one and admired Melinda's smiling face "one day I'll see you smile again Melinda Gordon" he whispered determinedly before setting it down and picking up a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt that she had left out.

"Mel?" he called quietly, she opened her eyes slowly "mmm" she mumbled "I uh..I have your pyjamas..I wasn't sure if I should...do you mind?" he asked, Melinda smiled "thank you for asking Jim, but you don't have to...I'd never say no" she replied quietly, Jim smiled down at her and undid the buttons on her jeans before sliding them easily down her legs, Melinda pushed herself up while he was folding the jeans on the end of his bed, she reached out and stilled his hand with her own, Jim looked at her questioningly and she smiled serenely before leaning forward, Jim eyed her lovingly as she ran her hands through his hair and tugged at it lightly "I'll miss that, promise me you won't cut it short" she requested, Jim nodded and Melinda raised up on her knees, she pressed herself close to him before capturing his lips with her own, she bit his bottom lip gently before smiling against him, Jim wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he kissed her back, Melinda could feel the difference in the kiss, it wasn't just sweetness and love, it was sadness and pain and desperation...they were saying goodbye.

A single tear rolled down Melinda's cheek and Jim wiped it away with his thumb, "don't cry baby, we'll be okay, I'll find you" he whispered, Melinda nodded "don't give up on me Jim, I'll make myself better, I'll fight as hard as I can and I'll come back to you I swear, one day I'll come back" she said, "one day you'll be mine again" Jim mumbled against her lips, Melinda pulled back and held his face between her hands "I'll never, _never_ stop being yours Jim" she said fiercely, he smiled and kissed her again gently pushing her back to the bed, Melinda pulled her top over her head and wrapped her arms around him, Jim kissed her deeply and lost his hands in her hair, he trailed kisses from her face down her neck to the new bandages that Christopher had put on her after her bath, "you're still hurt" he whispered against her, the pain in his voice told her exactly what Jim was thinking "this was _not _your fault Jim, you didn't do this to me" she insisted, "but I did Melinda, you told me to stop and I held you down to give you that damn injection, you _screamed_ Melinda, you _screamed"_ he said shaking his head before pressing more kisses to the bandage.

Melinda pulled him up to her "stop, stop it" she demanded "you _can't_ blame yourself" she insisted fiercely, Jim kissed her lips slowly and held himself over her so as not to hurt her with his weight. "I'm going to miss you so much Melinda" Jim whispered against her "I'll miss you too Jim, this hurts" she said softly. "Can I come to the airport with you?" he asked, Melinda shook her head "Jim, don't, it will just hurt you even more" she pleaded, he shook his head "worth it" he mumbled against her lips quietly, "are you sure?" Melinda asked, Jim nodded and kissed her again "I have to be there, I want to say goodbye properly, I need to" he insisted "fine, but you're gonna have to watch me walk away Jim, are you sure you can handle that?", Jim sighed "no" he whispered "but I'll do it anyway".

Melinda's face crumpled and she burst into tears "hey, sssh, you're okay Melinda, it's okay" he soothed as he pulled Melinda on top of him and wrapped his arms around her, "we'll be okay, everything's gonna be okay" he repeated over and over, a desperate mantra he knew brought little comfort to either of them.

"Are you guys awake?" came Olivia's quiet voice, "yeah, hold on" was Jim's tearful reply, Jim pulled Melinda's pyjamas on quickly and kissed her head just as Olivia walked in, she sighed as she took in the scene before her "are you okay?" she whispered, Jim shook his head and held Melinda tighter against her sobs "Melinda...baby" she whispered as she sat down beside them.

Olivia touched Melinda's back and she let go of Jim's shirt to hold Olivia's hand, their fingers laced together and Olivia lay down beside Melinda wrapping her arms around her from behind "you'll be okay Mel, I know it" she whispered, Christopher knocked on the door gently and stepped in "do you mind?" he asked, Melinda's crying continued and so he shut the door behind him and sat on the end of her bed "you know, we'll see you again soon...and you can come back here anytime you want Melinda, whenever you're ready" he said softly, Melinda nodded tearfully and sat up "thank you..for everything" she whispered, Christopher reached out to her and Jim helped her sit up slowly, "I'm gonna go make some hot cocoa, you guys want some?" Jim asked, Melinda gave him a small smile and nodded while the others declined. Melinda leaned into Christopher's open arms and he wrapped them around her gently "will you be okay Melinda? Are you ready to be alone?" Christopher asked desperately, "I'm ready...but still scared" she whispered.

Christopher smiled gently "you'll be okay Melinda, you're a strong girl, and if it ever gets too much for you, you know you've always got a place to turn and a family who loves you" he whispered. Melinda nodded and rested her head against his chest "I need to do this" she whispered, "I should let you get some sleep" Christopher said, he kissed the top of her head and gently lay her down "goodnight baby" he whispered tearfully, Melinda nodded "goodnight..dad" she replied, Olivia kissed her cheek "Melinda, I love you" she sobbed, "mom...I'm so sorry that I'm doing this to you...I love you too, both of you" Melinda replied sadly. The two of them left Melinda alone with her tears and soon after Jim returned with two huge glasses of hot chocolate, "you're hurting so much...I wish there was something I could do" Jim said as he sat down beside her and stroked her hair.

"There is" Melinda whispered, she sat up and wiped the tears from her face, Jim eyed her questioningly "what?" he asked, "say goodbye" she whispered, Jim shook his head "I can't Melinda, _we_ can't, let's not make it any harder" he pleaded, Melinda leaned closer and laced her fingers together behind Jim's neck "I need to hear you say it" she whispered, Jim sighed "goodbye" he whispered, Melinda bit back tears and nodded "I can do this" she replied. Jim leaned in and caught her lips "I love you Mel" he whispered, "I love you too Jim, you know that, right? You know how much I love you?" she asked desperately, Jim nodded "I know" he agreed with a nod, Melinda cupped his cheek with her hand and traced his nose with her thumb, Jim lifted his hand on the opposite side and mirrored her as she ran her fingers gently over his skin memorizing every line, after a while Melinda let her hand fall from his face and ran it over his chest pulling him down with her, Jim wrapped his arms around Melinda and turned them so she was on top of him to avoid putting any pressure on her.

Melinda unwrapped the bandage around her chest and took a deep breath at the relief, she pulled her t-shirt up a little and winced as she caught sight of the bruise across her ribs, Jim held her hips and kissed the bruise gently, "love me" Melinda whispered in his ear as he kissed her neck, Jim pulled back and looked into her eyes "are you sure?" he asked, Melinda nodded "I want to" she whispered, Jim smiled widely and slipped a hand under her tiny black t-shirt and pulled it up at the back "me too" he replied, Melinda sat up with him and pulled her arms out of the top before Jim slipped it over her head.

"Careful" Jim mumbled as he lowered Melinda down to the bed gently, she smiled at his concern and tugged at the bottom of his t-shirt "off" she mumbled against his neck, Jim pulled if off easily and did the same with his boxer shorts, Melinda bit her lip and reached out to stroke him with one hand while running her fingers through his hair with the other, Jim moaned and kissed Melinda deeply, her fingers grasped at his hair as their tongues battled for power, Jim ran a hand down Melinda's perfectly flat stomach and slid her shorts and panties down, she slipped them over her legs and let them fall to the floor.

"Jim" she moaned into their kiss as he nudged her legs apart and lay between them "are you okay?" he asked, Melinda nodded and he reached underneath her to unclasp her bra, she shrugged out of it and Jim slid it slowly down her arms "you're perfect" he mumbled against her skin as he kissed from the curve of her throat down between her breasts and back up to her lips, Melinda bit her lip hard as he slid a finger slowly into her, her breaths became shallow as Jim added a second finger and began a slow rhythm.

"I love seeing you like this" Jim whispered as Melinda twined her fingers into her hair and tipped her head back, she moaned in response and pushed her hips against Jim's hand, he kissed her neck and picked up the pace suddenly making her gasp and open her mouth as she moaned his name quietly, "don't stop" she mumbled almost incoherently as Jim's fingers found a place that made her head swim, Jim pushed harder and Melinda let out a small scream of pleasure as her orgasm rocked through her body, "I love you" she whispered, Jim claimed her lips in a heavy kiss and smiled at the blush across her cheeks, he kissed each one, then her nose, then her forehead, and finally her lips again.

"I love you too" Jim whispered against her as he slipped his fingers out of her and held her waist gently "my heart won't leave yours" Melinda said quietly, Jim smiled "my heart's glad to hear it" he replied with a lopsided grin that gave her butterflies, "are you ready?" Jim asked, Melinda nodded and lifted her hips to his in invitation, Jim kissed her and laced his fingers with hers as he slowly slid into her.

Melinda whimpered quietly at the slight pain and Jim kissed her "are you okay?" he asked, Melinda nodded and he wiped a newly forming tear from the corner of eye "sure?" he whispered, a smile broke across Melinda's face and she rocked her hips against his eagerly "I'm sure" she replied.

Jim pulled almost all the way out of her before slowly pushing back in, "Jim" Melinda mumbled as he moved against her, Melinda reached up and ran her thumb over Jim's bottom lip, he smiled at the gesture and bit her finger lightly as he thrust into her, Melinda moaned at the double sensation and he gave her a smug grin.

Jim sped up a little and kept a steady rhythm and Melinda held onto his broad shoulders for support as he began moving harder against her, she began circling her hips in time with him and Jim ran a hand from the back of her thigh to the back of her knee and lifted her leg allowing him to reach even deeper within her, Melinda hooked that leg over his back and threw her arms above her head.

Jim kissed Melinda hungrily as he felt himself losing control, she smiled against him and scratched his back lightly with her long pink-painted nails, Jim moaned into her mouth as he reached his release, "Jim!" Melinda screamed as she followed, Jim bit Melinda's lip as she rode out her second orgasm arching her back against him and moaning breathlessly, Jim held her close to him and rolled onto his back so she was laying on top.

He stroked her hair lovingly as she lay her head on his chest "I never wanna let you go" he whispered, Melinda sighed quietly "ditto" she murmured quietly and Jim could hear the sadness in her voice, "you'll always be my girl Melinda" he whispered, "and you'll always be my guy" she replied with a kiss to his chest, "at college...how long is your course?" he asked, Melinda began tracing a neat pattern on his stomach "the longest is eight months" she replied, Jim nodded "do you think...maybe you'd come back after that?" he asked trying not to sound too hopeful to avoid making her feel pressured, "No, I can't. Tell me something Jim, after everything that's happened, everything with us...everything with...with _them_..." she paused with a shudder as she thought about it, "...do you really want me? I don't just mean now...I'm talking about what you said when you gave me this" she said pointing to her ring "...you said forever...do you still want that?" she asked, Jim nodded without hesitation "more than anything in this world Melinda, it's _all_ I want, all I'll _ever_ want" he insisted pleadingly.

"Then you'll let me go, you'll let me find myself again and you'll stop trying...trying to make me feel even worse about all this than I already do, you're _hurting_ me Jim, you're hurting _yourself_, so just _stop_, please. I can't take this anymore, this is exactly why I'm going, I need to be away from people needing things from me..._needing_ me to talk, _needing _me to smile, _needing_ me to get better and get over it and be someone that I'm not" Melinda pushed herself up and wrapped the sheet around her naked body turning away from him, "okay" Jim whispered.

Melinda sighed and he pulled her into his arms and lay down stroking her hair gently "I'm letting you go Melinda, I'm saying goodbye" he whispered tearfully, Melinda reached up and touched his cheek "thank you Jim", "We'll make it through this Melinda, we'll be together again, happy, free. I'll make it happen" Jim whispered, Melinda smiled "I love you Jim, I'll never ever stop, I swear" she promised, "I love you too baby, that will never change" Jim said. He continued stroking Melinda's hair gently lost in thought until he realised that Melinda's breathing was slow and even "good night, my love" he whispered before turning the light out and pulling the covers over both of them.

**I could stay awake just to hear you breathing  
Watch you smile while you are sleeping  
Far away and dreaming  
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender  
I could stay lost in this moment forever  
Well, every moment spent with you  
Is a moment I treasure**

Cradling her in his arms he knew the next day would be the hardest he had faced since his parents had died. Jim couldn't stop the tears as they flowed fast down his cheeks, every now and then Melinda would stir and he would whisper gently in her ear, trying his hardest not to fall asleep because he didn't want to waste a single moment he had with her.

**Don't wanna close my eyes**

**Don't wanna fall asleep**

**Cause I'd miss you babe**

**And I don't wanna miss a thing**

**'Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream will never do  
I'd still miss you, babe  
And I don't wanna miss a thing**

"I'm scared" Melinda whispered in her sleep, Jim kissed her head softly and rubbed her arm "me too baby" Jim replied though he knew she couldn't hear him "I say I understand why you're doing this, but the truth is...there's a part of me that doesn't, I wish I could, but it's just so hard to think of not having you here, not being able to hold you. I just wish there was another way...something I could do..." he trailed off with a choked sob and buried his face in Melinda's hair, despite his attempt he could feel the sleep catching up to him. "You're everything I love Melinda, everything I want, everything I need, I wish I could be the same for you, but I guess I'm not enough. I couldn't save you _then_, and I can't save you _now_." Jim closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of Melinda's strawberry shampoo, he couldn't fight the tiredness much longer "I love you Melinda" he mumbled just before sleep claimed him.

**Lying close to you  
Feeling your heart beating  
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming  
Wondering if it's me you're seeing  
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together  
And I just wanna stay with you  
In this moment forever, forever and ever**

Melinda sat up and glanced at the clock, 2:30am, she looked down at Jim, fast asleep, and her eyes filled with tears quickly _-I'll miss you so much baby_- she thought as she touched his warm cheek, Melinda padded into her own bathroom and showered quickly glad that the sound of the water drown out her gentle sobs. As she stepped out she could hear Jim's shower running, she dressed in a cream vintage lace camisole that clung to her tightly, she pulled on a short black leather jacket with rolled sleeves and a pair of dark gray distressed skinny jeans, she curled her hair softly and applied her makeup, angrily slamming a hand down in her dresser in frustration as the tears kept rolling down her cheeks -_what do you want from me_?- she asked her reflection in thought _-I'm doing this for you, leaving him...leaving everyone behind...what else can you take from me?-_ her tired eyes glared back at her, she lay her head on the dresser "Melinda?"

Christopher hung back in the doorway with tears in his eyes, Melinda didn't respond and kept her head down "how you feeling?" he asked gently, she still didn't move, he shook his head and walked in, kneeling down behind her he pulled back Melinda's shoulders a little to force her to sit up, he sighed at the tears rolling fast down her face, "talk" he whispered, Melinda glanced at him in the mirror and shook her head, he nodded in understanding and stood up to go but paused at the door "we need to leave" he told her before picking up her suitcases and heading back downstairs.

Melinda burst into tears as he walked out and ran her fingers through her hair _–this is all my fault, I'm hurting everyone, everyone who tries to help...I can't do it anymore...I'm making the right decision, I need to go...alone- _she thought sadly. Melinda grabbed her hand luggage and ran from the room without looking back, "woah, slow down ba-" Olivia began but Melinda ran straight past her and grabbed Christopher's car keys off the counter "Melinda NO!" Olivia yelled but she was already out the front door and out into the pitch black, she threw her bag into the trunk of the car and climbed into the drivers' seat planning to go alone, she couldn't face the thought of having them watch her walk away, watching her plane take off, she rather go by herself.

Just as she got the key in the ignition a pair of strong arms pulled her from the car roughly and spun her around, she found herself staring into Jim's angry tear-filled eyes, he was holding her by the shoulders tightly and set her down in front of him "no" he said firmly, she pulled away from him but he wouldn't let go "NO" he yelled louder, Melinda cried harder as he shook her while he spoke "listen to me Melinda, you're not doing this alone, you can't go by yourself, what the hell were you planning to do? Were you just gonna take off and leave us all behind without a goddamned backward glance? No! This is _not_ how it's going to happen Melinda, we love you. We're going to come with you, and I'm gonna hold your hand while we wait for your flight, and Christopher is gonna hug you and kiss you and tell you how much you mean to him and Livvy, and Olivia will cry her eyes out while we watch your plane take off, but we _want_ to. We want to see you go, to say goodbye, so don't you dare try to take that away from us" he demanded.

Melinda couldn't stop crying but stopped struggling against him and he pulled her into his arms "don't you dare" he repeated in a whisper before pulling her back and shaking his head, he held the back door open for her and climbed in after, Olivia sat in the front passenger seat and smiled gently at the two of them in the rear view mirror, Melinda continued sobbing into Jim's chest until he shuffled over and pulled her down so she was laying with her head in his lap, he slipped his fingers into her hair and massaged her head gently as she cried, Christopher joined them in the car and rubbed his eyes, without a word he shut his door and took to the road.

It only took an hour on the deserted freeway and they were soon in JFK airport standing in line at the counter for American Airlines flights, "morning, could I see your ticket and passport please" the woman behind the desk chirped, Melinda handed her the documents and waited while she tapped away at her computer "okie-dokie sweety, you're boarding in half an hour at gate 12, you'll need to show this on the way in" she said handing her a newly printed boarding pass, Melinda nodded solemnly and turned away to walk back to where Olivia, Christopher and Jim were waiting.

"This is a luggage call for American Airlines flight 34 boarding at 4:30am, please proceed to luggage check in immediately" came a chipper voice over the tannoy system, "I'll do it" Christopher said, he picked up Melinda's suitcases and went up to the desk, the man behind it sent Melinda's bags through a scanner and loaded them onto a conveyer belt "thank you sir" he said with a smile, Christopher sat back down and laced his fingers with Olivia's trembling ones. Melinda's phone rang and she rummaged around in her purse for it, pressing the accept button she held it to her ear "hi honey it's Lisa, I just wanted to let you know that I'm up and ready to head to the airport to pick you up, there are no delays so you should be here in a couple of hours, I'll meet you right outside the gate when you get here just look out for me, you're flying 1st class so you'll be at the front of the crowd, are you alright?" she asked gently, Melinda didn't respond and Lisa sighed "I thought not, you'll be okay sweety, I'll take care of you, I'll see you soon baby, can I talk to the Jenner's?" she asked, Melinda handed the phone to Christopher and lay her head on Jim's shoulder.

"Okay, thanks Lisa, bye" Christopher ended the call and handed the phone back "she's looking forward to seeing you" he said distantly, Melinda nodded and leaned further into Jim, "Melinda, I'm sorry" Olivia cried, Melinda sat up and looked at her questioningly "I'm sorry that we let this happen to you, that we weren't there, that we couldn't stop it...I'm sorry that we don't know how to help you get better and that you have to leave to do it...I'm sorry that I've been such a bad mom to y-" Melinda shook her head in protest and wrapped her arms around Olivia, "I'm sorry baby, Melinda I'm so sorry" she sobbed. They sat like that until Christopher spoke "we'll always love you like a daughter Mel, and you only have to call and we'll be right there with you, always" he said gently, Melinda nodded and he wrapped his arms around both her and Olivia "be safe baby, God...please be safe" he whispered, she leaned into him and he kissed the top of her head.

"This is a boarding call for American Airlines flight 34, could all passengers please proceed to gate 12, I repeat, this is a boarding call for American Airlines flight 34, could all passengers proceed to gate 12", Melinda gasped and Olivia's sobs became harder "I love you Melinda" she whispered, "Mel..." Jim said gently, Christopher released her and she turned to Jim.

"Melinda, before I met you I had lost myself, and you helped me to find my way back to who I want to be, I'm so sorry that I...I couldn't do the same for you, I'd give anything to be all you need, but I know that what you need...it isn't here, I just hope you find it Mel, because you deserve it, you deserve to be happy" he whispered Melinda cried into his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her, "baby I love you so much, and you've got to remember that" he sobbed, she nodded and touched his chest, he smiled through his tears "you'll be okay Melinda, you're the strongest person I've ever met" he said kindly.

"This is a final boarding call for American Airlines flight 34, could all passengers please proceed to gate 12"

Melinda looked up at Jim and nodded, he pulled her face to his and kissed her desperately, he arms wrapped around his neck and Jim lifted her off the ground their lips never leaving each other's. "I'll see you soon baby girl, I swear to God this is NOT goodbye" he growled, she gave Olivia and Christopher a final hug before picking up her bag and heading to the gate with them behind her "you call us as soon as you get there Melinda" Christopher said firmly, she nodded and glanced at the line of people getting their passes checked before walking through the outside terminal and onto the tarmac. Olivia and Christopher nodded tearfully and turned to leave with a final 'I love you', "I love you Mel, forever" Jim whispered, he kissed her one last time and held her close to him, the line of passengers was coming to an end and they knew she had to go.

"Bye baby" he whispered in her ear before letting her go, Melinda gave him one last kiss before handing in her pass and heading out to the plane. People glanced her way subtly as tears streamed down her cheeks, they reached the plane quickly and Melinda scrubbed at her eyes as she climbed the portable staircase, she got to the top and was greeted by a male flight attendant "1st class cabin is to your left ma'am" he said politely, she nodded thanks and made her way to her seat, she was on the side that faced the terminal and she could just imagine Jim through the glass wall, he was standing with his hands linked behind his head as she knew he did when he was upset, Melinda settled down and put her i-pod headphones on, as she pressed play on the song 'Missing-Evanescence' she closed her eyes and watched as her imaginary Jim reached out to her as if asking her to come with him. "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to American Airlines flight 34, please remain in your seats and fasten your lap-belts, we are preparing for take-off".

Melinda glanced tearfully at Jim's sad face in her mind and shook her head _–I'm sorry, I can't-_ she thought sadly, he touched his hand to the glass and watched her turn away slowly. The plane engines came on and Melinda bit back more tears trying to focus on her projection of Jim, he looked up at her through the glass with pleading eyes _–I love you-_ he cried.

Melinda opened her eyes and touched her hand to the little round window by her seat, as they began to move down the runway she turned so that she could still see the building, faster and faster they moved along the tarmac as she watched out the window trying desperately to focus on where Jim would be standing even as they got so far away that one window of the terminal was indistinguishable from the next. As they neared the end with a small jolt the tires left the ground and they began the climb, Melinda closed her eyes and pictured Jim's face again, she imagined reaching out to stroke his cheek. Melinda stared down at the airport as it became smaller and smaller to her, she wiped the tears from her cheeks and took a deep breath "I love you too" she whispered.


End file.
